Pat Durling , January 12, 1927 — April 19, 2019

Pat Durling January 12, 1927 – April 19, 2019 Pat Durling was born January 12, 1927 in Chicago, Il to Walter and Emma O’Halloran, and passed away on April 19, 2019 in Newport, Oregon. Pat married Brad Durling on September 7, 1947, having three children together; Pam, Paul and Tom. She lived a long and interesting life, leaving a large footprint in every community in which she lived.

Her first job was gift wrapping at Marshall Fields in Chicago, and she went on to much bigger and broader fields. Pat was a court reporter (saw lots of interesting stuff there), and spent many years as a newspaper reporter (other moms were going to the PTA meeting on Tuesday night, and she was getting called out at 3:00 a.m. to cover a murder). She then ran a State Senator’s office for many years in Michigan.

Pat loved the Upper Peninsula of Michigan, that wild and lovely stretch of land along the shore of Lake Superior, and participated in every part of her community. In the fall, she was out in the forest hunting in the snow and almost always got her deer. She gardened, sewed, hunted, mushroomed, cooked like a chef, fished, and bred, raised and showed her beloved English Springer Spaniels.

Pat simply did a fine job of it all. She and Brad retired and moved to the Alabama Gulf Coast where they lived for 29 years. Pat was predeceased by her husband, Brad Durling and her son, Paul Durling.

She is survived by her daughter, Pam McElroy, of Newport, Oregon (where Pat spent the last 13 years of her life); her son, Tom Durling of Marquette, Michigan; her grandson Scott McElroy of Longmont, Colorado and his wife Bess, and their daughters Olive and Nova; her son-in-law Jerry McElroy of Ignacio, Colorado; and her lifelong friend Cheryl Schreiner of Jacksonville, Florida. Pat also leaves behind many friends in the loving community of Oceanview Senior Living where she spent her last seven years. Pat was a woman of substance, strong in meeting all of life’s challenges, and all the way around a tough old bird.

I also like to tell people that she was a total badass, and I have always been proud to be her daughter. A Celebration of Life will be held at Oceanview Senior Living at 3:00 p.m. on May 8, 2019.

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