Elaine Duffy

When she turned 99, Elaine Duffy shared four tips with her family for living a good life 1. Life is what you make of it. 2. Take care of your health. 3. Think positively. 4. If there is something you really want to do and you’re able to, do it. These four tips pretty much sum up how she lived her life. Mrs. Elaine Marie (née Murphy) Duffy, of Stillwater, Minnesota, born on March 26,1919 in Spokane, Washington, to Rose (née Vincent) Murphy and Kyran Murphy, Jr., passed away peacefully at age 100 on April 10, 2019 in Sun City, AZ. She was born in Spokane, WA and lived in Salt Lake City, UT until her family moved back to Minneapolis, MN in 1929. She met her best friend, Eileen McCormick, in the 6th grade. They remained friends until Eileen passed away in her 90s. Elaine attended Central High School in Minneapolis where she was a member of the debate club, the school newspaper as a current events reporter, and a member of the drama club. In the senior play, Ladies of the Jury, she held the lead role. She was the Salutatorian of her class, graduating in 1936. When Elaine graduated from the University of Minnesota with a BA in Journalism in 1940, less than 4% of women in the United States had completed four, or more years of college. While studying at the University, she was President of the Women's Self-Government Association of the University of Minnesota. She also worked at Powers Department Store during college where she was the store’s University of Minnesota Student Representative and an Assistant Buyer. One of the highlights of her college years was in the summer of 1938 when she worked at Glacier National Park in the main lodge. She met her future husband, Robert Brand that summer and treasured those memories throughout her lifetime. Elaine was a resident of St. Paul, MN as a young woman and then moved to Stillwater in the late 50s where she lived for over 20 years. She began wintering in Sun City, AZ in 1976 and eventually moved there as a full time resident in 1983 where she lived until her death. Elaine loved people and was always organizing parties and get-togethers with friends. She was a great communicator and had a real talent for staying in touch with family and friends through letters and by phone. Elaine loved staying involved and she was a Girl Scout leader and a member of the St. Paul Opera Guild and the Stillwater Prison Art Program. She also held several positions in her condo association in Sun City for over 20 years. Elaine loved exercise and was an avid biker, hiker, and ice skater. For over 25 years, she was an active member of the Sun City biking and hiking clubs. Elaine loved travel and visited places all over the globe including many trips within the continental U.S., Hawaii, and Alaska as well as international trips to Australia, Caribbean Islands, China, France, Italy, Mexico, Portugal, South Pacific Islands, and Spain. Elaine loved learning and was always reading and taking classes to learn something new throughout her life. She was given her first computer in 1999 as an 80th birthday present and everyone in the family received a lot of emails after that! Elaine loved her family and they were always the most important part of her life. Her brother, Kyran Murphy III, her first husband and the father of her children, Robert S. Brand, and her second husband, Bernard J. Duffy, preceded Elaine in death. She is survived and will be greatly missed by her two daughters and son-in-laws, Carol Brand Aageson (Tom Aageson) and Elizabeth Brand Arellano (Enrique Arellano); and two granddaughters and grandson-in-law Britt Bravo (Adriano Bravo) and Andrea Arellano. During her 100 years, Elaine touched countless lives as a loving mother and grandmother, a devoted friend, and a generous and caring person who always helped others — even if she’d just met you. Friends and family are welcome to celebrate Elaine’s life in Sun City, AZ and Stillwater, MN. A funeral Mass will be held Friday, April 26 at 11 am at St. Elizabeth Seton Catholic Church, 9728 W Palmeras Dr, Sun City, AZ 85373. A Mass of Christian burial officiated by Father Patrick Kennedy and Father Greg Welch will be held at St. Michael’s Catholic Church, 611 3rd St S, Stillwater, MN 55082 on Wednesday, June 5, 2019 at 10 am for visitation in the church atrium and 11 am Mass followed by a reception in the church hall. A private burial will follow at Calvary Cemetery in St. Paul, MN. Those wishing to honor Elaine's memory may send a donation to VAMOS! (vamosinmexico.org), St. Jude’s Research Hospital (stjude.org), or ChildFund International (childfund.org) , three organizations that were close to her heart.