James Philip Duffy

James Philip Duffy, devoted to his family, committed to his businesses, and zealous for adventure. For the past 25 years, he lived in Naples, FL, in a home he treasured, surrounded by woods and all manner of wildlife. On Thursday, May 8th, a sunny morning, he passed with his family at his side. Jim was 75.
He grew up in Levittown, Long Island with Mary Psiropoulos Duffy (Mom) and James Paul Duffy (Pop), and three little sisters (Boop, Nicky and Bert) who he loved dearly and teased gleefully. It was a unique time when children ran free and wild. Jim took full advantage of that, colluding with friends to fish, explore, hop the bus to the beach, and who knows what else. He lived in Levittown until he was 20, Columbia, SC, until he was 29, Menlo Park, CA, until he was 50, and Naples, FL, for the remainder of his life. He made special, lifelong friends in every place he lived.
At 19, he joined the US Army and did a tour of duty in Vietnam. He was an honorable veteran.
Jimmy fell in love with a girl in SC and chased her to CA; for 47 years, his wife Gloria called him "Sugar."
When his wife said she would like to visit Mexico since it was close to CA, he put her in a little truck, strapped an aluminum boat on top and spent a month camping up and down the mainland and Bahia. One day he said lets go to Oregon, and they did via Arizona, Nevada, Utah, and Idaho. It would be fair to say that Jim Duffy was spontaneous.
At 40, he became a father. Anthea and Zachary were Pops pride and most eager playmates. Their fun toys were his RV and boat. Camping was not an occasional event, but a regular event. He taught 3-year-olds to chop wood; kids to race bicycles uncontrolled down hills, to dirt bike through the desert, to ski behind his boat, and to explore the most beautiful places in the country. When he couldnt break out to create dangerous activities with the kids, he coached baseball, cheered Girl Scouts award ceremonies, sat through endless swim meets, all the sports games, took the camper to every wrestling match and cooked a full breakfast for the team after weigh-in, attended all band performances, and flipped burgers for the band snack stand on Friday nights. Fast forward, when he met a new person, he always managed to wiggle into the conversation that his daughter was an accomplished RN, and his son was a proficient general contractor, and his sons wife, Kate, had an important online job that we dont understand. He also loved his nieces and nephews. When he could steal them, they became accomplices in his conspiracy to get outside and hopefully do something a little bit hazardous.
Jim was always an entrepreneur. As a kid, he cut grass, ran errands, and became a paper boy winning awards for Best in Sales. He started Jim Duffy Construction in SC, CA, and FL. There are few more skilled at scouting construction projects than Jim Duffy. It was his passion. He hired talented people and was proud of the team who made all his companies successful. In FL, he was honored to have his son work by his side until he retired. Jim was tough but fair, strong yet gentle.
Nature gave him joy, and he loved all animals. If he saw an animal in need, he stopped and helped even when inconvenient.
His spirit will be carried forward by his loving wife, Gloria L. Cooley; children Anthea K. Duffy and Zachary J.A. Duffy (wife Kate, first grandchild expected November 2025); siblings, Elizabeth Foster (husband Alan, children Lana and Brian), Nicola Dalbenzio (children Jordan and Daniel), Roberta Fleming (husband Mark, children Kyle, Lee, and Regan); brother-in-law, Phillip Cooley (wife Susan, children Carol and Diane); and many in-laws, great nieces and great nephews, and lifelong friends.
Anything donated to help children would make Jim smile.
Jims family attended a celebration of his life on May 10th at Fuller Funeral home in Naples, FL. We hold him in our hearts. To plant a beautiful memorial tree in memory of James, please visit our Tree Store.