Obituaries
Vernon W. Durbin Jr. (06-15-2010)
Vernon W. Durbin, Jr., 83, cherished son, husband, Dad, Pawpaw and Pops, died Thursday, June 10, 2010 at Baylor Hospital in Dallas following a brief illness. He was born Jan. 27, 1927 in Dallas the son of Jesse Henderson and Vernon Durbin. He graduated from Sunset High School in 1944 and immediately volunteered for the Army Air Corps. He completed his flight training, but the war ended before he was deployed. On Sept. 4, 1948, he married the love of his life, Maxine (Mickey) Swimm. They resided in Oak Cliff for most of their married life. He worked for the Union Pacific Railroad where he was part of their original transition from manual to computer operations, receiving some of the earliest training in this new technology. He was recruited by American National Insurance Company as their data operations supervisor as they transitioned to computer processing of claims. He left to form his own company, Durbin Data Systems which he operated for 20 years. He and Mickey retired to Lancaster, Texas where he pursued a love of real estate ventures, then moved to Ennis in 1999 to be closer to his only grandchild.
He was a 62 year member of Oak Cliff Masonic Lodge #705 and for years delivered Christmas gifts to the children at the Masonic Orphans Home in Fort Worth. He was a life-long Presbyterian and member of First Presbyterian Church of Ennis. He and his wife loved to travel and were always involved in home remodeling projects. He had a passion for baseball having played catcher in high school, the military and semi-professionally in the 1940s and 1950s. He continued to follow his Texas Rangers until his death, and he never met a poker game he didn’t like.
He is survived by his son and his wife, Dr. Stephen and Conni Durbin, and one beloved grandson, Christian Durbin, all of Ennis. He is also survived by his special friend and caregiver, Margie Norum and several nieces and nephews. He was preceded in death by his parents and wife of 55 years.
Funeral services will be held at 2 p.m. Wednesday, June 16 in the Keever Chapel with Rev. Craig Krueger officiating, under the direction of J. E. Keever Mortuary, Inc. Visitation will be from 6 – 8 p.m. Tuesday at the Keever Mortuary. The family requests that memorials be made to The Building Fund at First Presbyterian Church, 201 N. McKinney, Ennis, TX 75119 or the American Lung Association, 1301 Pennsylvania Ave., NW, Suite 800, Washington, D.C. 20004.
www.jekeevermortuary.com
