JANE ELIZABETH DUFFY

DUFFY JANE ELIZABETH
GRIM LOFTUS
(1924-2015) Was born in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, the second eldest of the seven children of William C. Grim and Teresa R. Burns, and graduated from Sacred Heart Grade and High Schools ('42) and Carnegie Institute of Technology (Architecture,'47). From 1948, Jane raised six children, Francesca, Jay, Peter, Deirdre, Brigid, and Daniel, with John "Jack" Loftus (also CIT, Arch,'47) until their divorce in 1968. Starting early in their marriage, Jane and Jack belonged to the Pittsburgh/Ligonier branch of the Frank Lloyd Wright Study Group originating at Taliesin, in Spring Green, Wisconsin, and they studied under the mentorship of Mrs. Olgavanna Wright until 1957. As an architect, starting in 1966, Jane designed in the Pittsburgh private firms of Celli-Flynn and Curry-Martin, and with Worsing-Fowmes on the Westinghouse Nuclear Center buildings. In 1972, she was hired by the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, Pittsburgh District, and worked there for 19 years on numerous projects, including the Visitors Center building at Bonneville Dam on the Columbia River, Portland District, Oregon. In addition, she was on assignment for five and a half years to projects at the Corps' chief headquarters in Washington, D.C. In 1980, Jane married Francis Duffy, also from the Corps of Engineers, Pittsburgh District, and was widowed the same year. In retirement, she joined the Academy for Lifelong Learning at her alma mater, Carnegie-Mellon University, where she continued her architectural, history, art, and design studies. She was a voracious and omnivorous reader all her life, and led in her children's Girl Scout and Cub Scout troops and also in their local parish activities. She was an adept calligrapher, a skilled embroiderer, and a gifted colorist. She collected beads, designed and strung necklaces, created paper art, gardened, mushroomed, kept bees, hiked and camped, sang and enjoyed music of all genres. She quilted, wrote and journaled, cooked, catered, and hosted in all of her Fox Chapel, O'Hara Township, Aspinwall, and Glenshaw, PA, homes. In 2005, she moved to Oregon, to live near her three adult children, Recca Maze, Deirdre Errand, and Daniel Loftus, their spouses, her seven adult grandchildren, five great-grandchildren, and two great-great-grandchildren. Her son, Jay Loftus, continues to live in Tyrone, PA, with his wife and Jane's three grandchildren and two great-grandchildren. In McMinnville, Jane joined the writer's circle at Hillside Manor, continued her Art, Popular Culture, and History classes, and traveled in Oregon and Washington. She died from complications of a stroke on Nov. 25, 2015, in good care, and with her family attending her. She chose cremation and private services. She was preceded in death by her parents; her siblings, William, Patricia, Mary Agnes, Wallace, and Robert; her daughter, Brigid; son, Peter; and former husband, Jack. She is survived by her sister, Kathleen Grim Ortner; and her brother, Richard C. Grim. Donations in the name of Jane Grim Duffy may be made to the Taliesin West, Frank Lloyd Wright School of Architecture, PO Box 4430, Scottsdale, AZ 85261. Jane's many friends are invited to a Memorial Celebration of her life which will be hosted by her family in the Carnegie Room of the McMinnville Public Library on Sunday, Dec. 27, 2015, from 1:00-4:00 p.m. Thank you, Mum. For all the amazing things you've accomplished and contributed to. Enjoy, you are now beyond our sight, but always in our hearts. To leave online condolences, visit www.macyandson.com.