John Durham

John Douglas Durham 10/30/1948 – 2/24/2018 John Douglas Durham passed away on Saturday February 24, after a five-year battle with Parkinson’s disease. John was born in Tacoma WA and moved to the Yakima Valley with his family at an early age, where he would graduate from Marquette HS. After high school, John attended the University of Idaho and earned his BS degree in Education. A 3-year letterman for the University of Idaho football team, this is where a passion for the game of football and coaching was started. After serving his country for 4 years as a first lieutenant in the US Army, John began his 31-year career as an educator and coach. John spent his career at several local high schools, serving as biology/science teacher, football/wrestling coach, and Athletic Director. He positively impacted a great number of young lives throughout his career and will forever be remembered by many as “Coach Durham”. John was also an avid fisherman and outdoorsman, a passion that he enjoyed sharing with his loved ones. John has been preceded in death by his parents Stanley and Barbara Durham, younger brother Jim Durham, and mentor Tom (Mister) O’Brien. He is survived by siblings: Patricia (Larry) Carter, Tom Durham, Bill (Anne) Durham; wife, Nancy Durham; sons, Brad (Marissa) Durham, Scott (Jaime) Durham; stepdaughters: Sarah (Jason) Dahl, Jessica (Tim Valdez) Slagg, Amanda Slagg, Hannah (Chris) Brown. John is also survived by 11 grandchildren: Trenton, Riley, Hunter, Madison, Victorya, Leah, Eve, Kanon, Blake, Roman, and Jackson. A special thank you to Highgate Senior in Yakima WA, and their caring staff members. A celebration of life service is scheduled for Saturday March 10th, 2pm @ Yakima Foursquare Church. In lieu of flowers/cards- the family asks that people consider donating to John’s favorite ministry, Homes of Hope. Donations can be made by going to www.ywamsdb.org where a link has been created for “John’s Memorial”. To order memorial trees or send flowers to the family in memory of John Durham, please visit our flower store.