Obituary of Pat Duty

Pat Duty, 88 of Roanoke, died in Salem, Va. on Monday February 24, 2014. He was born on March 17, 1925 in Buckingham County, Va., the sixth of eight children of Nora Amos and David Lemuel Duty. While he lived in many states, from California to Louisiana to Florida, he felt most at home when surrounded by the Blue Ridge Mountains. His family was of utmost importance to him and his loyalty to them was strong. He loved nothing more than to combine his love of the mountains and his family by spending a day at the Peaks of Otter, hiking, and picnicking. As grandchildren and great grandchildren arrived, he took delight in watching them grow, and could be counted on for making the best slingshots in town. He was often on the floor playing with both his children and his grandchildren. Many times he worked two jobs to help provide for his family and yet never complained of the hours spent working. Having grown up at the Virginia Baptist Children's Home in Salem, he worked to provide a secure and loving home for his children. During World War ll, he left Andrew Lewis High School to enter the United States Army and served in the Field Artillery. His exposure to the war in Europe was at the Battle of the Bulge. While he never talked about his military service, he never wavered in his patriotism to his country and his belief in the American work ethic. He was predeceased by his beloved wife of 66 years, Etta Duty, and is survived by his children, Greg Duty (Larren) and Cindy English (Randy) of Roanoke, and Vernon Duty (Mary Beth) of Atlanta, Ga; five grandchildren, Robert Duty (Crystal), Heather Traylor (Evan), Patrick English, Andrew Duty, and Wilson Duty; four great-grandchildren, Kailin, Memphis,and Lennox Duty, and Brody Traylor; He was also preceded in death by his seven siblings. The family would like to express their profound thanks to the exceptional staff at Virginia Veterans Care Center for their loving and supportive care of their father during the last few months. Visitation will be held at Simpson Funeral Home, located at 5160 Peters Creek Road, Roanoke, Friday February 28, 2014 from 10:00-11:30am. A graveside service to celebrate the life of Pat Duty will be held in Sherwood Memorial Park at 2:00pm, located at 1045 Lynchburg Turnpike, Salem, Va. Donations in lieu of flowers can be directed to Hope Tree Family Services (formerly Virginia Baptist Children's Home) at www.hopetreefs.org or P.O. Box 849, Salem, Va. 24153, or to the Blue Ridge Parkway Foundation, 1-800-308-2273, http://brpfoundation.org/content/make-donation. "I lift up my eyes to the mountains. From whence does my help come from? My help comes from the Lord, who made heaven and earth." Psalm 121:1-2