John W. Duffy was simply "Dad" to all the kids at the Copiague High School Madrigal Choir.  He and his wife Ellen, one of the faculty members at the high school, became intensely dedicated to the choir once their daughter Jillian joined while she attended school there.

"The kids loved him... everybody did," said his wife.  "We were the official chaperones to all the competitions.  He was very involved with the group; it was a lifetime commitment for him."

Mr. Duffy’s commitment to his choir "children" was honored at the end of his funeral mass when his 16 year old son Christopher and his two friends, all members of the choir, sang a hymn in tribute.

"There was not a dry eye in that room," said Ellen of the approximate 300 attendees. Mr. Duffy, Copiague resident and Copiague High School 1969 graduate, died July 26, 2002 of a heart attack.  He was 51 years old.

While devoted to his choir, family and friends remained the most important things in Mr. Duffy’s life. His daughter, who now attends Marist College in Poughkeepsi, New York, and his son, who will enter his junior year of high school next year, were what his life revolved around, said his wife.

"It was basically his kids and family. That was him," she said. Mr. Duffy’s second love was animals, she added. His two dogs, a Dalmatian named Elvis and a Hound mix named Melody, were just as much family to him as his wife and children.

Described as a loving, caring, good-natured and quiet guy who "would give you the shirt right off his back," it was no wonder Mr. Duffy befriended many while working as a baker for 20 years at Entenmann’s Bakery in Bay Shore.

"He had more friends than I knew of, and I was witness to that at the funeral," his wife said.  "He just touched everybody and he was the hardest worker.  His coworkers who came to the funeral even said, ‘what are we going to do now?’ I just couldn’t believe how many people he knew there. There was even one guy that said he didn’t work with John, but he always said hello to him everyday."

While not spending time with his loved ones, Mr. Duffy enjoyed working outside his house, tending to the lawn or the pool.

"And he was the only guy I know that loved grocery shopping," added his wife with a laugh.

From 1970 to 1972, Mr. Duffy served in the United States Navy as a photographer in Vietnam. He was drafted to take pictures of medical operations, and eventually collected and kept a portfolio.

In addition to his wife and children, Mr. Duffy is also survived by his future son-in-law, Steven Black of Newburgh, New York and his sister Carol Duffy of Copiague.

Mr. Duffy reposed at D’Andrea Brothers Funeral Home. A funeral mass was said July 31 at Our Lady of Assumption Roman Catholic Church by Rev. Father Camilo Lugo.  Military services were held at Calverton National Cemetery, where interment followed.