John DURYEA

1923 - 2020

DURYEA - John Cortelyou passed peacefully on March 19, 2020 in Greenport, New York, at the age of 96. John was born November 10, 1923 to Harold and Louise Duryea of Brooklyn, New York. He lived in Brooklyn until his family moved to Bellerose, Long Island. John graduated from Sewanhaka High School at 16 and enrolled in Hofstra University for two years. In 1942 he enlisted in the Navy to defend our nation in World War II. He was trained by the Navy at Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute and Cornell University. John was assigned to an amphibious landing ship in the Pacific as an engineer, and was honorably discharged as an Ensign in June 1946. John remained in the reserves and was appointed to the rank of Lieutenant (Junior Grade). John was honorably discharged from the Navy Reserves in December of 1957. Within a few weeks of his discharge from the Navy after World War II, John met his future wife, Raemary Chase on a blind date. He returned to Rensselaer for a year to finish his degree as an Electrical engineer graduating in 1947. August of 1947 he married Raemary and celebrated 72 years of marriage last August. John's business career was in the field of military and space electronic engineering at Sperry and Singer Corporations. He worked on the space shuttle program in the 1980's, specifically the Discovery Shuttle. At that time this work kept him living in Cold Spring Harbor, but he and his family never missed a summer with their relatives in Sagaponack. Upon retirement they moved to Bridgehampton where they spent the next 35 years. John's interests were many with extensive travel with Raemary at the top of his list. They traveled to over 60 countries of the world bringing back stories of their adventures to their delighted grandchildren. John was also interested in hiking volunteering for the South Fork Trails Preservation Society. One of his passions was genealogy research. He created extensive family documents for several branches of the family that are carefully documented. John was an active member of Bridgehampton Club and on Wednesdays could be found golfing with his Fearsome Foursome. John loved the beach and he and Raemary had a picnic lunch daily at Bridgehampton Club's Beach. Other interest were Military History, Coins, Stamps, Natural History, Classical Music, Marching Bands, and Astronomy. His love for family and commitment to them was evident in his everyday actions and life. He is survived by his wife Raemary Duryea, daughters Lisa Duryea Thayer of Sagaponack, NY, Jane Duryea Bowman of Raleigh, NC, four grandchildren Erin Thayer Dickson of Sag Harbor, Lauren Thayer of Sagaponack, Rachel Bowman of Raleigh, NC, and Jonathan Bowman of Charlotte, NC. He is also survived by four great grandchildren. A memorial service will be held at a future date. In lieu of flowers the family would like donations made to the Bridgehampton Presbyterian Church Capital Improvement Fund - Stain Glass Windows, P.O. Box 3038 Bridgehampton, NY 11932.