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OBITUARY King Durkee; newspaperman worked for Copley for many years; 89
By Blanca Gonzalez UNION-TRIBUNE STAFF WRITER
May 2, 2008
Born into a vaudeville family, King Durkee briefly considered careers in music, medicine and law but it was the newspaper business that was his calling.
Although the Great Depression forced him to find work instead of attending high school, Mr. Durkee eventually attended college and enrolled in some law classes and a year of medical school. Once he walked into a newsroom, however, he was hooked.
Mr. Durkee spent half a century in journalism, most of it in San Diego, where he held several editing positions at The San Diego Union. His varied interests led him to community involvement that ranged from the Greater San Diego Science and Engineering Fair to serving on the boards of the Old Globe Theatre, La Jolla Chamber Music Society and the San Diego Symphony.
He helped launch the Newspapers in Education program for Copley Newspapers in the 1960s, and he promoted the program nationwide. The program aims to improve reading, writing and spelling through use of newspapers in schools.
Mr. Durkee died Tuesday of congestive heart failure at Riverside County Regional Medical Center in Moreno Valley, where he and his wife were visiting family. He was 89.
He retired in 1989 as director of educational services for Copley Newspapers' 12 dailies and 32 weeklies in California and Illinois. Mr. Durkee conducted a training program that selected top graduates from the nation's finest journalism schools for a year of intensive on-the-job training at Copley newspapers.
His interest in education led him to participate in many professional associations, including the Accrediting Council on Education in Journalism.
Mr. Durkee was the first San Diegan elected president of the board of governors of California Community Colleges.
As executive director of the local science fair for 32 years, Mr. Durkee oversaw its growth and saw it become a model for science fairs worldwide.
“King Durkee was one of the most patient and kind men I have ever known,” said Herb Klein, a friend and former colleague who was editor in chief of Copley Newspapers. “His legacy includes teaching journalism to some of the nation's top editors and writers. He was the inspiration for scores of students who have become leading scientists and participated in the science fair which was run by King directly for many years.”
Mr. Durkee was born Dec. 13, 1918, in Los Angeles to Edward and Myra Durkee. His father was a musician. The oldest of four children, he was named for King Donovan, a vaudeville child performer. Until he started school, Mr. Durkee thought all little boys “lived in hotels and Pullman cars and watched chorus girls undress backstage,” according to a 1989 interview with The Tribune.
Mr. Durkee married his first wife, Lillian, in 1938. Both were members of the Huntington Park Community Symphony. He played the trombone, and she played the clarinet. They were married 51 years until her death in
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1989.
Mr. Durkee joined the Army in 1942 and was assigned to the Enlisted Reserve Corps. The Army sent him to college. Mr. Durkee attended Brigham Young University, Utah State Agricultural College, now Utah State University, and the University of Utah in Salt Lake City. He received a bachelor's in 1946.
He took a newspaper job to earn money for his second year of medical school but when he returned to school, he decided he belonged in the newsroom. After his retirement, he continued to write a nationally syndicated column on classical music for Copley News Service.
Mr. Durkee is survived by his wife, Lynne Durkee of University City; daughter, Deborah Stravasnik of San Diego; sons, Michael of San Diego and Timothy of Boise, Idaho; stepdaughters Cynthia Rodriguez of Moreno Valley, Jennifer Zoretich of Duluth, Minn., and Rachel Westcott of San Diego; a brother, Wayle Iler of Woodinville, Wash.; a sister, Lois Gajewski of Las Vegas; an aunt, Bessie Anderson of Laguna Niguel; 10 grandchildren; and three great-grandchildren.
Mass will be held at 10 a.m Tuesday at Our Mother of Confidence Catholic Church, 3131 Governor Drive in University City. Burial will be at El Camino Memorial Park.
Blanca Gonzalez: (760) 737-7576; [email protected]
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