Mr. C. Harlow (Duff) Duffin, 90, of Punta Gorda, Florida, passed away Saturday, December 26, 2009.

He was born November 1, 1919 in Springfield, Idaho. He worked for the War Department, assigned to the Military Attache system in Brazil during WWII. He met Marjorie Horton in the U.S. Embassy in Rio de Janeiro in December 1945. They were married in Rio one year later. He returned to the U.S. in 1947 and completed work on his bachelor of Arts degree in economics. He next worked for the U.S. Foreign Service assigned to Brazil and subsequently to Nicaragua, Guatemala and Spain with Washington D.C. home base.

He loved languages and was proficient in Portuguese and Spanish and later acquired facility in reading French and Italian. On retirement to Punta Gorda in October 1973 he became involved in sailing and golf which lead him to participate in the founding of the Isles Yacht Club and the St. Andrews South golf Club. He was Commodore of the Isles Yacht Club 1981-82. He served two years on the Board of the PGI Civic Association and a brief stint on the Punta Gorda City Planning Commission. During his final years he did intensive reading in the fields of world history, literature, philosophy and languages. He believed that the learning process should continue to the last moment of life.

He is survived by his wife, Marjorie H. Duffin and his son Gregory W. Duffin, both of Punta Gorda, FL. He has one surviving sister, Sharol (Grant) Wilson of Driggs, Idaho, and two surviving brothers, Keith Duffin and Dr. Richard(Betty) Duffin, both of Salt Lake City, Utah.