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John P. Duffy

John Patrick Duffy, of Saranac Lake died on Thursday, Sept. 21, 2017, at the Adirondack Medical Center at the age of 77.

After attending Oberlin College and serving in the Army, Duffy, who was born March 13, 1940 in Lowville, landed at the Lake Placid Club in 1960s. It was at the Club that he met Marilyn Peer, whom he married in 1968. Together they raised six children at the end of Park Avenue in Saranac Lake.

John opened Duffy’s Cedar Post, a family restaurant in Saranac Lake in 1976. In the years afterward, he worked in food service, cultivated his meadow, and kept track of Notre Dame, the Red Sox, and the endless array of hummingbirds and butterflies he worked tirelessly to attract.

He is survived by his beloved wife Marilyn; his two brothers: James of New York and Joseph of Seattle, Washington; his six children and their spouses: Elizabeth Duffy Baron and David R. Baron of Boston, Massachusetts, Patrick Duffy and Darra Wenske Duffy of Saranac Lake, Kate and Jared Westerlund of Seattle, Washington, Lillian Ruth and Adem Bukva of Saranac Lake, Caroline Phyllis and Seth Noone of Denver, Colorado and Timothy Duffy of Saranac Lake; as well as his loving grandchildren, Ethan Duffy Eddy, Megan and Sawyer Westerlund, Grace Phyllis Duffy, Jessie and Nick Brockway — in whom he frankly delighted, and who he always kept very well-supplied in cookies, cakes, and (some say divinely) inspired flavors of ice-cream.

Calling hours will take place from 6 to 8 p.m. tonight at the Fortune-Keough Funeral Home in Saranac Lake. A Mass of Christian burial will take place at 11 a.m. Tuesday, Sept. 26, at St. Bernard’s Church with the Rev. Patrick Ratigan officiating. Burial will follow in St. Bernard’s Cemetery.

In lieu of flowers, donations may be sent to the Saranac Lake Free Library or North Country Public Radio. Family and friends can also share their memories and sign the online guestbook at fortunekeoughfuneralhome.com.