- Date Of Birth: February 4, 1936
- Date Of Death: September 1, 2021
- State: Iowa
James (Jim) David Durbala, 85, passed away September 1, 2021. Jim was born February 4, 1936, in Lovilia, Iowa, to Elmer and Alice (Martin) Durbala. Jim was the seventh of twelve children. He was a lifelong Iowa resident, except during his military service from 1957 to 1960 when he lived and traveled extensively throughout Europe.
After meeting on a blind date, Jim married Margaret Bergman on August 22, 1964. Together they raised five children. This past August, Jim and Margaret celebrated their fifty-seventh wedding anniversary.
Jim worked for Pirelli-Armstrong Tire for thirty-two years retiring in 1998. He was a member of Knights of Columbus, and the Izaak Walton League.
Jim was a serious fisherman. He spent every spring, summer and fall out on his boat and then transitioned to ice fishing in the winter. Even if he wasn’t fishing he could still be found driving around the lake checking to see if the fish were biting and often recruited family members to accompany him on these drives.
He had a lifelong passion for gardening. He was meticulous about attending to his vegetables, herbs and flowers. In his later years he was particularly proud of his garlic harvest.
Jim was extremely proud of his children, grandchildren and great-grandchildren. He made attending their activities and sports a priority. He was definitely their biggest fan.
In retirement, instead of slowing down, Jim seemed to step up his activities. For over thirty-five years he met up weekly with the same friends to “shoot the breeze”. He volunteered at church, hosted many fish fry’s, loved to play pool and “mall-walked” with his group of regulars.
Jim is survived by his wife Margaret Durbala; children, Mike (Annette Cooney) Durbala, Patty (Greg) Dedrick, Mary (Jim O’Brien) Durbala, Paul Durbala, Tom (Teri) Durbala; brother, Raymond (Louise) Durbala; sisters, Jeanne (Karl) Northwall and Lois Durbala; seven grandchildren: Nathan, Renee, Audrey, Kate, Jessica, Emily and Joseph; four great-grandchildren, Natalie, Nicholas, Caden and Owen. He was preceded in death by his parents, siblings; Philip, Joe, George, Bill, John, Mildred Bivens, Mary Lou Durbala CHM and Jane Schaefer.
