Eugene D. Duffey

Eugene D. Duffey, 78, peacefully passed away in Galveston TX, on Jan. 31, 2025, after a nearly two-week stay in ICU at University of Texas Medical Branch. He was a 15-year survivor of a major heart event which left him in a coma for nearly 50 days in 2009, and he always liked to say he had nothing to lose after that. So, he lived his life – a good life – to the fullest.

He loved to travel, especially abroad. The Swiss Alps perhaps topped his list of favorite destinations, along with Spain, Ireland and Singapore. He even traveled once to the then-Soviet Union. But when COVID 19 occurred, he was cut off from seeing the world. No one hated COVID more than him.

He was able to visit 49 of the 50 states. North Dakota was the only one he missed.

He was a former newspaper sportswriter in Rochester, NY; Houston, TX and Huntsville, AL before launching a second career as a freelance journalist who kept detailed statistics and provided an invaluable second pair of eyes to visiting television broadcast teams at Astros games.

He loved college basketball. He was a 1968 graduate of Syracuse University and a diehard Orangeman fan. He was an advocate of women's sports. He was a lifelong bachelor whose many friends were his family. He chose to go by Gene or just plain “Duff” and was masterful at how he managed – and forever kept – these friendships alive.

He was willing to travel and spent a night on someone’s couch or in a spare room, and he called himself “America’s Guest.” He never bothered with a nearby hotel. Why do that? It would take him away from what he came there to do – pay a visit.

He made a practice of calling his friends regularly to simply “catch up.” He truly cared. He kept their phone numbers in a black book. He never ended a phone call before the person on the other end felt better than before he called. He was old-school. His calls were made from a landline (you can Google it, if necessary). In fact, his friends have joked that his story could be titled, “The Last Person in America Who Refused to Own a Cellphone.” He owned a computer and enjoyed e-mail, so he wasn’t anti-tech. He just never understood how anyone could own something that they kept losing.

He was born in Boston and grew up in Rochester, NY. He was an only child, so (as he told it) it became more imperative to make friends. He was a proud alum of East High School. Last summer, he went back to East HS, attended his 60th reunion and saw a host of friends. And he knew the exact number he saw.

Gene Duffey is predeceased his father, Jack Nye Duffey, his mother, Claire Donlon Duffey, and his grandmother, Gracie Donlon. He is survived by his half-sister, Sandra Zeitler and husband, Carl, of Tomball, TX. Also, more friends that anyone can count.

In lieu of flowers, please make a donation in Gene’s name to Syracuse University (https://giving.syr.edu/ways-to-give/index.html), the American Heart Association (https://www.heart.org/) or to the charity of your choice.

– 30 –