Harriet Weinstein Duff

Harriet Weinstein Duff passed away peacefully in Ventura, California on June 29, 2017. She was born on October 2, 1915 in Middlefield, Ohio to Clara and David Weinstein. She spent most of her school years in Warren, Ohio, then graduated from Gustavus High School in Gustavus, Ohio in 1933. She earned a teaching certificate from Kent State University in Kent, Ohio, and later graduated from the University of Delaware, at Newark, Delaware with a BS in Education. She worked for Sears, Roebuck and Co. in Warren, then in Washington, DC until her marriage in 1950 to John C. Duff. After the birth of her daughter, Jonna Carolyn Duff, in 1951 they moved to Wilmington, Delaware where their son John Carson Duff was born in 1953. Harriet spent 24 years as an administrator in the Department of Health and Social Services in Wilmington. In 1980 she worked for the Department in Dover, Delaware, retiring in October of that year when she moved to Ventura. She was an avid and knowledgeable collector of antiques with a special interest in primitive 19th century furnishings and early California paintings. Additionally, she was a dedicated citizen scientist in a number of areas, including her study of the ability of ants to predict seismic activity. Harriet was active in the Unitarian Universalist Church of Ventura, and in the Ventura County Museum of History and Art. She is survived by her daughter Jonna, granddaughters Maya and Carly Salmon, and two great-granddaughters. Donations in memory of Harriet Duff may be sent to: The Unitarian Universalist Church of Ventura 5654 Ralston St. Ventura, CA 93003