Theodore Leland Durgan (1938 - 2017)

Born 6 Apr 1938 in Happy Valley, Clackamas, Oregon, United States

Ancestors

Died 10 Jul 2017 at age 79 in Portland, Multnomah, Oregon, United States

Biography

Son of Theodore Ernest Durgan and Ethelwynn Grant Michael.

Theodore was married several times. He was survived by 8 children and 15 grandchildren.

He was a welder by trade, working at the Hyster Corporation for many years welding fork lift truck body frames together in the manufacturing process. He suffered a non-work related injury in his 30’s which forced him to take an extended period of time off from Hyster. This injury required one of the first hip replacement transplant surgeries in Oregon. He subsequently had to have a second surgery 25 years later, the doctors saying that he got his money’s worth on the original hip replacement as the early surgeries were lacking todays medical knowledge and technology; the first surgery was expected to have only a 10 year success rate before having to be re-done.

During his time off, Teddy went back to school to expand his knowledge, studying at the DeVry University, where he acquired the love of electronics and computers. With the acquisition of new computer skills, Teddy was able to use the computer to research and create a detailed family lineage and ancestry tree which he loved to share with the world.

Teddy was later employed by the Pape’ Corporation, where he worked until he had to retire due to the second hip surgery.

Census Records

In 1940 his grandfather George was living in the household in Sunnyside. Theodore and Ethelwynn had children: Colin, age 8; Theodore, Jr, age 1; and Wynona, infant.^[1]

The family was living in Clackamas County in 1950.^[2]

Sources

1. ↑ "United States Census, 1940," database with images, FamilySearch (https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/3:1:3QS7-89MR-W62K?cc=2000219&wc=QZXG-K7Q%3A790103001%2C790443801%2C790551001%2C790551002 : accessed 11 July 2022), Oregon > Clackamas > Harmony Election Precinct, Sunnyside > 3-32 Harmony Election Precinct, Sunnyside > image 25 of 37; citing Sixteenth Census of the United States, 1940, NARA digital publication T627. Records of the Bureau of the Census, 1790 - 2007, RG 29. Washington, D.C.: National Archives and Records Administration, 2012.
2. ↑ "United States Census, 1950," Clackamas County, Oregon; ED 3-136, page 27, line 29; FamilySearch.org

• https://www.findagrave.com/memorial/181290146/theodore-durgan