Duane L. Huff

Duane Leroy Huff, 90, of Guilford, Maine and Bonita Springs, Florida passed away peacefully in Fort Myers on Friday, April 26, 2024. He was born on November 7, 1933, the firstborn of three sons to Orman and Leone Huff, and was raised in the small town of Guilford, Maine. Upon graduating Guilford High School, he enlisted in the United States Air Force where he was trained as a radar technician. He deployed to Korea in 1951 during the Korean War, were he served honorably at a long-range radar site. After his enlistment was up, he returned home to Maine where he entered the University of Maine using the GI Bill. He graduated with honors and a degree in Electrical Engineering. He was recruited by the world renowned Bell Telephone Laboratories in New Jersey, where he moved with his new wife and baby daughter. He received a master’s degree from Columbia University and worked alongside Nobel Laureates on cutting edge technologies. One of his career highlights was an overseas 2-year assignment in 1969 to Kwajalein Atoll in the South Pacific Marshall Islands. At this secret location, the US was testing the first anti-ICBM system that would protect our country from Soviet nuclear missiles by shooting them down in space using nuclear tipped interceptors. While on Kwajalein, in addition to raising his daughter and three sons on a tiny island one mile long and a quarter mile wide, he became a certified SCUBA diver, exploring numerous WWII shipwrecks sunk during the famed battle for the island. He was the first to discover a Japanese ship, which now bears his name as the “Huff Maru” (kwajdivecenter.com). Duane and his oldest son were also avid shell collectors and they built a large and diverse collection. The next highlight of his amazing career was in 1983 where he was part of small team that established the first cell phone call ever in Chicago, Illinois. Duane’s children were raised very close to state of the art technology on both sides of the globe, and two of his sons became Aerospace Engineers with very successful careers. After retiring, Duane and his wife Kathleen split their time between Guilford, Maine and Delray Beach, Florida. Duane was very active in their Delray Beach community and served on many board roles for the community. Duane and Kathleen loved getting together with family and Duane loved hunting and fishing in both Maine and Florida with his sons, brothers, and lifelong friends from Guilford. Memorable hunting trips included caribou, moose, and bear hunts in Northern Maine and Canada. Duane is preceded in death by his younger brothers, Dale Huff and Wayne Huff and his son, Eric Huff. He is survived by his loving wife of 30 years, Kathleen Rellihan Huff, and his children and their spouses, Karen and Tim Abel of Melbourne Beach, Florida, Michael and Amy Huff of San Diego, California, Steven and Joy Huff of Merritt Island, Florida, and Kelly and Robert Cada of Fort Myers, Florida. He is also survived by 9 grandchildren and their spouses, Collin and Amie Abel, Kelsey Abel, Dallas and Emily Abel, Jacqueline and Justin Badal, Ryan Huff and fiancé, Ashlee Hirji, Noah Huff, Evan Huff, Nicholas Collins, and Douglas and Jamie Okrasinski. In addition, he is survived by 8 great-grandchildren, Noah, Hudson, Elena, Evelyn, Emilia, Jackson, James, and Emily. Great-grandchild #9, Tatum, is due at the end of May. A Celebration of Life will be held on Friday, May 17, 2024, at 1:00pm at Shikany’s Funeral Home, 28300 Tamiami Trail South, Bonita Springs, FL 34134 Interment will be in Guilford, ME at a later date. In lieu of flowers, the family requests donations to be made in Duane’s honor to Guilford Memorial Library, P.O. Box 177, Guildford, ME 04443. Arrangements are being handled by Shikany's Bonita Funeral Home, Family Owned Since 1978.

Duane L. Huff

November 7, 1933 - April 26, 2024