J. Gene Dufty
Aug. 19, 1920 - April 21, 2006
WILLMAR -- Jay Gene Dufty Jr., 85, of Willmar died Friday at Bethesda Heritage Center in Willmar.
The service will be at 2 p.m. Tuesday at Vinje Lutheran Church in Willmar. A private interment will be at the church cemetery.
Visitation will be from 5 to 8 p.m. Monday at Peterson Brothers Funeral Home in Willmar and for one hour prior to the service at the church on Tuesday. Memorials are preferred to the Vinje Lutheran Church Building Fund or the Boy Scouts of America, Trailblazer District.
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He was born Aug. 19, 1920, in Austin to Cora (Swenson) and Jay Dufty Sr. He attended rural grade school in Mower County and graduated from Austin High School in 1938. He achieved the rank of Eagle Scout as a Lone Scout in 1941. He attended the first National Boy Scout Jamboree in 1937 in Washington, D.C.
He married Florence Mobraten on Jan. 1, 1944. They lived in Austin. They moved to a farm near Fergus Falls in 1957 and to Willmar in 1970.
He worked in dairy equipment sales. He worked with the Guardian Ad Litem program since 1985 and was also a conservator and power of attorney for many individuals.
He was scoutmaster for Vinje Troop 229 from 1974 to 1986, was Woodbadge trained, a Vigil member of the Order of the Arrow, received the District Award of Merit, the Silver Beaver Award and the Lamb and St. George Religious Awards.
He received the Humanitarian Award from the Willmar Eagles Club in 1987, Service to Mankind Award from the Sertoma Club, the WCCO Good Neighbor Award and the "Touch-A-Life" Award from the Kiwanis Club in 1992. He was a member of numerous wildlife and service organizations and of Vinje Lutheran Church, where he had served as a council member, deacon and usher.
He is survived by his wife; children: Doug (and Karen) Dufty of Fargo, N.D., Gail (and Steve) Marx of Richfield, Mark (and Marcia) Dufty of Fergus Falls, Jan (and Michael) Simon of Park Rapids, Debra (and Gary) Hanneman of Lakeville, Barbara (and Ken) Pauly of Willmar; son-in-law: Jerry Grinde of Hutchinson; 17 grandchildren; 12 great-grandchildren; two stepgrandchildren; and two stepgreat-grandchildren.
He was preceded in death by a daughter: Linda Grinde; three grandchildren; two brothers and one sister.
