Bob Duff

Monday, May 13, 2019 2:14 pm

Bob Duff of Cedar Rapids set off on his next adventure May 9, 2019, after a brief but courageous battle with cancer. A Celebration of Life will be held at the Knights of Columbus 1620 E Avenue NE, Cedar Rapids, IA 52401, June 2, from 1 to 5 p.m. If you can join us at his celebration, do what Bob would do and wear your flip flops.

Born in New Jersey, Bob was raised in Metuchen.He attended Buena Vista College in Storm Lake, and the Universidad de Valencia, Valencia, Spain. Upon graduation he taught Spanish, debate and speech at Interstate 35 High School in Turo. He moved on to successful professional sales careers with both Deluxe Check Printers Inc. and Pearson Education.

Once retired Bob returned to his love of Spanish by substitute teaching. He had a special affection for the Spanish department and students at Kennedy High School where he did two long term assignments. He also gave back to his community as a volunteer at Mercy Hospital, logging in 2500 hours of service.

Bob was incredibly social and made friends easily. He brought a spark to a room when he entered with his warmth and quick wit. He was passionate about family, friends, music, baseball, the NY football Giants, big cities, FOOD: from street food to great steak houses, Broadway shows, Spanish, international travel and road trips. This true “Jersey Boy” was most at home on the white sandy beaches of the Jersey shore. He never had a bad vacation and never met a beach he didn’t love.

Bob is survived by his loving wife and best friend of 37 years, Karen (Faldet); his son, Michael Duff (wife, Maureen; grandchildren, Jack and Molly); his son, Jamie Duff (wife, Rachel; grandchildren, Riley and Dewey); his sister, Eileen (Gene) Kaminski; mother-in-law, Ileta Faldet; sisters-in-law, Kathy (Carleton) Haugen and Renee (Steve) Uthoff; brother-in-law, Craig (Sue) Faldet; beautiful nieces and a nephew, their spouses and adorable children.

Bob was preceded in death by his son, Bobby Duff; his parents, Walter and Lucile Duff; his brother, Skip Duff; and his father-in-law, Curtis Faldet.

The family wishes to express their heartfelt thanks to Mercy Hospital, Mercy Hospice and the Mercy Hospital volunteers for their compassionate care and comfort. In lieu of flowers memorial donations may be directed to the Mercy Medical Center Foundation, 701 10th Street SE, Cedar Rapids, IA 52403.