Duryea Morton

Duryea Morton died at Williamsburg Landing on May 6 at the age of 94. Duryea was born in Bronxville, New York and was the son of the late Roger and Helen Royce Duryea Morton.Duryea grew up in Hingham, Massachusetts and graduated from The Forman School in Litchfield, Connecticut. Upon graduation in 1943, he volunteered for the 10th Mountain Division (Ski Troops) of the U.S. Army and served in northern Italy during World War II. He was awarded the Combat Infantryman's Badge, the Purple Heart and the Bronze Star for meritorious Service. After the war he graduated from Albion College, Albion Michigan where he was a member of Delta Tau Delta Fraternity and Omicron Delta Kappa. In 1950, Duryea was a pioneer in teaching natural history at private schools before "ecology" was an accepted science. After years at both The Forman School in Litchfield, Connecticut and The Potomac School in McLean, Virginia, Duryea joined the staff of the National Audubon Society as the Director of the Audubon Center and the Audubon Camp of Connecticut in Greenwich. Duryea later directed the Audubon Camp in Maine, supervised all the Audubon Nature Centers and adult Audubon Camps and directed the Educational Services Department in the New York City Headquarters. He retired from National Audubon as the Vice-President of Education. His final teaching position was at the St. Francis School in Goshen, Kentucky.Duryea always felt he was most fortunate in his choice of career, for through his outdoor teaching he constantly sought to inspire and encourage adults and children to open their eyes to study, to appreciate and to protect the natural world. In 1979, the owners of Harbor Island in Muscongus Bay, Maine and the National Audubon Society dedicated the northern tip of the Island as the Duryea Morton Audubon Sanctuary. Duryea is survived by his loving wife of 58 years, Peggy Wilson Morton, a daughter, Leslie Morton, a son David Morton (Cynthia) and two grandsons, William Duryea Morton and Stuart Emil Morton.In 1990, Duryea and Peggy retired to Williamsburg. Duryea was a member of the Middle Plantation Club.A Celebration of Duryea's life will be held at Williamsburg Landing on Tuesday, May 14th at 2:00 P.M. in the Alvin P. Anderson Auditorium immediately followed by a reception.Memorial contributions may be made to the National Audubon Society, Project Puffin, 159 Sapsucker Woods Road, Ithaca, NY 14850 designated for the Duryea and Peggy Morton Seabird Internship Fund.