Jeffrey Leonard Duff

Jeffrey Leonard Duff, 55, died at his home in Twin Falls, Idaho on February 14, 2023 after a brief, brave battle with bile duct cancer. He was born July 28, 1967 in Burley, Idaho to Ruth Ann (Pettit) Duff and Leonard Hueston Duff.  He grew up farming with his family, raising potatoes, sugar beets, and other crops before he graduated Calvary Christian School in 1986 and obtained his Associates of Applied Science in Diesel Power Generation Technology from Idaho State University in 1989.

Jeff’s first job led him to Seattle, WA. He worked briefly for Alaska Diesel & Electric before beginning a career with Caterpillar that spanned over 20 years and led he and his family from Washington to Nevada, then California, Oregon, and finally full-circle to Idaho.

Jeff married his wife, Jennifer Lee Mathews, in August 1994 after having met her on a blind date courtesy of a mutual friend. They were married for nearly 29 years and joked about the birth of their two daughters, Emily and Sophie, both of whom were born in Las Vegas, Nevada. It seems that not everything that happens in Vegas stays in Vegas after all.

In 2013 Jeff left Caterpillar to work for Multiquip Incorporated as a service manager. His territory at one point covered Canada, the western contiguous United States, as well as Hawaii and Alaska. His gift for gab, his outgoing personality, his immense experience with backup diesel generators, his ability to teach and lead were the perfect ingredients for six amazing years of forging relationships both business and personal wherever he went. At his urging, Jenny took two years off from work and joined him in his adventures, journeying across Montana, falling in love with Colorado, and visiting Hawaii and Alaska. They even managed a cruise to Alaska to celebrate their 25^th anniversary.

In early 2019 Jeff’s health took a dive when he was diagnosed with stage four non-alcoholic liver failure. He worked as a technical service adviser for MQ at home as he was no longer allowed to drive but it’s likely that Jenny wept more than Jeff when the service truck was hauled away later that year. Jeff continued to work from home and Jenny returned to work while they both waited patiently for the next 3.5 years for the big call down to Salt Lake City for a new liver. After several dry runs, that call came in September 2022.

After seven weeks of recuperation in Salt Lake City Jeff was released, but not without some sobering news. Cholangiocarcinoma had been found in his old liver. It was feared that it had spread and the doctors promised to monitor him. Jeff went home feeling confident that there was little to worry about, but in December he received news that it had metastasized after all and treatment was needed immediately. He received care at the St. Luke’s Cancer Institute in lieu of traveling down to Huntsman, but the cancer was too quick for the doctors, for Jeff, for his family. We will celebrate our bright, cheerful, bigger-than-life Jeff on February 25, 2023 at 11 a.m. in the chapel at Twin Falls Reformed Church in Twin Falls, with funeral arrangements under the care of Rosenau Funeral Home & Crematory.

Jeff is survived by his wife, Jenny; his daughters, Emily Duff and Sophie Duff (both of Twin Falls); his mother, Ruth Duff of Paul, Idaho; his brother, Steven Duff (Laurie) of Williston, North Dakota, and many cousins, uncles, aunts, nieces, and nephews. He is predeceased by his father, Leonard Duff.

Thank you to the emergency personnel and police for trying to save Jeff. Thank you to Drs. Satterfield, Malone, Bisbal, and Thibault of St. Luke’s and their staff for caring for Jeff through his diabetes, liver failure, and cancer. Thank you to Dr. Wettstein and staff of Advanced Foot & Ankle for their dogged care for Jeff’s foot. Thank you to Dr. Allan of Welch, Allan & Associates for your care. Thank you to Dr. Barfuss and Summit Dental Care for your love and support for Jeff too. We are also grateful to the nursing staff of both Encompass and Auburn Crest Home Health. And while last, the following are certainly not the least: the cancer team headed by Dr. Gilcrease at Huntsman Cancer Center in Salt Lake City, and the pre- and post-transplant liver teams at University of Utah Hospital:  Drs. Thomason, Gallegos, Baker, Campsen, Zimmerman, Rodriguez, and of course Amanda and Inma – we love you. Jeff considered all of you to be his family. We only wish he could have had the longer life he’d waited so long for.

Finally, Jeff was passionate for God and Jesus. He used his years of illness to share his witness to everyone who crossed his path. This was the verse he deeply believed in:

“… Always be prepared to give an answer to everyone who asks you to give the reason for the hope that you have…” I Peter 3:15 (NIV).