SANBORNTON - Kenneth Bernard Durgin took his last flight from this world on December 23, 2012. He was air-lifted from Franklin Hospital to the Dartmouth Medical Center, Hanover, NH where he passed away, with his family at his side.
Ken was born in Laconia, NH on September 18, 1925. He grew up in Laconia, living many years with his grandfather on Avery Street. He graduated from Laconia High School in 1943, where he was known as "the man about town in his jalopy". Ken married Helen Brodhead in Laconia on September 9, 1950. They had two daughters: Nancy, born in 1954, and Elaine, born in 1957.
Ken joined the US Army Air Corps in November 1943 and was commissioned a 2nd Lieutenant pilot in May 1945. He trained in the southeastern US, served in Germany, and then entered the reserves in January 1947. Ken graduated from Bentley School of Accounting and Business in Boston in June 1950 and was re-activated in the military the next month. He was a pilot and later an auditor in the US Air Force, serving in Denver, CO; Levittown, NY; Greenville, SC; Wiesbaden, W. Germany; Montgomery AL; Boston, MA and Bedford, MA. While working at Boston Army Base, he obtained his BS degree in accounting. He served two extended tours of duty away from his family: the first in 1952 in Korea where he flew 100 missions; the second as an auditor in 1966 in Saigon, Vietnam. He retired as a Lt. Colonel in 1967. Throughout his military career he was always home for Christmas.
After retirement from the military, Ken became an auditor for the Defense Contract Audit Agency in Waltham, MA. In 1972, he took a 5-year position at Rhein Main Air Base near Frankfurt, W. Germany. When he and Helen returned to the States, they lived in Hudson, NH. Ken continued to work and travel in the States for DCAA until he retired in 1987. Ken and Helen built their retirement dream home on Tower Hill Road, Sanbornton, NH in 1990, shortly before her death.
In the 1960’s, Ken was a developer of Sunray Shores Association and Alpha Color. Ken was a member of the 1st Baptist Church of Sanbornton, where he served as church auditor and trustee. He was also on the Sanbornton Senior Housing Board.
On May 31, 1998, Ken married Cheryl “Cherrie” Bowles Allen. Throughout his life, Ken’s greatest loves were his family and traveling with them. Ken was a generous man of great faith, integrity and fun. He loved to joke with everyone he met, and was always singing some silly, often made-up song, slightly off-key. Perhaps you remember him as the “young” old man who asked if you would give him change for his million dollar bill, or maybe you heard him asking for his curly hair discount. He loved using his tractor to till the garden, mow the grass, and plow the driveway. He had lived and traveled all over the world, but his favorite place was "up on the hill".
Ken is survived by his wife, Cherrie; daughters, Nancy Durgin and her husband Jonathan Farr of Sanbornton, and Elaine Hoff and her husband Joseph of Greeley, Colorado; grandchildren, Eric and Kelly Hoff, Tasha Durgin, Alex and Benjamin Hoyt, Jason and Trevor Allen, Connor, Eliza, and Addison Allen; sisters Arzelia (Zee) Jones of Rochester, NH, and Jennie Frisella of Dover, NH; numerous nieces, nephews, great-nieces and great-nephews, and many friends. He was pre-deceased by his first wife, Helen Brodhead Durgin, brothers David, Lewis and Maurice Durgin, and sister Lillian Tilton.
Calling hours will be held Friday, December 28 from 10:00 AM to Noon in the Carriage House of the Wilkinson-Beane Funeral Home, 164 Pleasant Street, Laconia, NH. A Memorial service will follow at 1:00 PM at the 1st Baptist Church of Sanbornton, 17 Church Lane, followed by a meal in the church fellowship hall.
A Graveside Service with military honors for Kenneth Bernard Durgin, 87, of 192 Tower Hill Road, will be held on Friday, June 28, 2013 at 1:00 PM at the family lot in Tower Hill Cemetery, Sanbornton, NH. There will be time for reflection and memories, and afterwards to gather at 192 Tower Hill Road.
Memorial donations can be made to the 1st Baptist Church of Sanbornton, 17 Church Lane, Sanbornton, NH 03269.
Wilkinson-Beane-Simoneau-Paquette Funeral Home & Cremation Services, 164 Pleasant Street, Laconia, N.H. is assisting the family with the arrangements. For more information and to view an online memorial go to www.wilkinsonbeane.com .