Obituary of my
grandfather Daniel J. Duffy
This article appeared
in a Philadelphia newspaper during the week of August 4, 1935.
DANIEL J. DUFFY, SR.
NOTED MEAT PACKER
IS CLAIMED BY DEATH
Well-known Business Man, Founder of Duffy Brothers, Inc., Passes Away at His Home – Helped Establish the Meat Packing Business Located at Front and Venango Streets – Was Energetic and Enterprising and Devoted to Every Cause That Promised Betterment of the Community.
Philadelphia, its
environs and many other communities were shocked to hear of the death of Daniel
J. Duffy, Sr., president of Duffy Brothers, Inc., meat packers who passed away
at his home, 1139 Dyre Street, last Friday, August 2. His qualities as a
citizen and a business man were such that he will be sorely missed.
Mr. Duffy belonged to
that sturdy and dependable race of business builders who showed initiative and
energy and truly devoted their lives to the betterment of mankind. Mr. Duffy
devoted himself to the conduct of a firm that gave employment to many and
always maintained the highest traditions of business integrity.
Mr. Duffy was the
founder of the meat packing business located at Front and Venango Streets - an
enterprise that has grown in volume and reflects the resourcefulness and
personality of its founder. It will be continued along the traditional lines of
honest business methods which has made the firm an outstanding success.
Mr. Duffy was born in Strabon, Ireland, June
16, 1878. He came to America with his parents when only six months of age. He
received his early education in the parochial schools of Philadelphia and
started in the meat business around 1895. From a small beginning – like every
pioneer – his firm has become one of the best known in this section.
Mr. Duffy was always
interested in furthering any progressive movement in the meat industry
throughout the United States. He was considered the best judge of livestock in
the East.
Favored with a
progressive and energetic type of mind, Mr. Duffy was successful in maintaining
an enterprise which was noted for the high quality of its products. It is a
tradition to this day that anything which comes from Duffy Brothers, Inc. is to
be depended upon. Employing the most skilled workmen, the business also has the
advantage of skilled management. The result was noticeable in the steady
progress made by this alert and widely respected concern.
Mr. Duffy was a
member of the American Institute of Meat Packers and the Holy Name Society of
St. Martin’s Roman Catholic Church.
Aside from his
business qualifications, Mr. Duffy was an upright and conscientious citizen
always keen to help in any movement that looked forward to the betterment of
the community in which he lived. His whole environment was made brighter for
his presence.
The business which he
established will be carried on by the survivors in the enterprise – his two
sons, Daniel, Jr. and Andrew Duffy. Besides these, he is survived by his wife,
Mrs. Mary E. Duffy and two daughters, Elizabeth and Anna. To all of these the
community extends heartfelt sympathy in the hour of their bereavement.
Funeral services took
place Tuesday, August 6, from his late residence, 1139 Dyre Street, attended by
relatives, friends and employees of Duffy Brothers, Inc. with Solemn Requiem
Mass at St. Martin’s Church, at 10 A. M. Interment was in Holy Sepulchre
Cemetery.
MR. DUFFY IS IN BACK ROW 3RD
FROM RIGHT. HIS ELDEST SON AND MY UNCLE, DAN, IS TO HIS RIGHT.
FRONT AND VENANGO THEN AND NOW
THE PLANT EVEN HAD ITS OWN RAIL SIDING
v I transcribed this verbatim
from a blurred copy of a copy.
v The actual name of the
business was DUFFY & BROTHERS.
v He was born in Strabane, not
Strabon.
v The year was 1935.
v The business was sold later,
I’m not sure when. It became Cross Brothers Meats which closed in 1979.
