Evelyn Duffey

EVELYN DUFFEY, 98, of Little Rock, died peacefully on Dec. 14, 2012. Evelyn was the daughter of Norwegian immigrants and was born Oct. 30, 1914 in Chicago. Prior to WWII, she was a writer and translator for Scandia, a Chicago based Scandinavian newspaper. When the war started, all news was cut off from Scandinavia, and the paper folded. She loved that job, and applied at the dailies, but found only a college degree could get you hired. Experience was not wanted. She met Arnold Duffey in night class at the American Academy of Art and later married him. He taught her the commercial art business, and they had a freelance business in downtown Chicago. The business thrived until the end of the war. The transition from wartime to peacetime industrial production lasted about a year, during which advertising took a nose dive, and a number of agencies went out of business, including theirs. They had heard of a number of good jobs in Dallas, but Walt Disney Studios had just let a large number of artists go and all the good jobs were taken. On the way back north, they stopped in Little Rock, had a good offer, and stayed. Employed by Arkansas Printing and Lithograph, Evelyn Duffey was the first female art director in Little Rock. She also painted a series of 5' by 7' panels depicting the history of river transportation on the Arkansas River for Jack Trotter's downtown River Museum. Time was too short to achieve the quality she wanted, but the panels were impressive. Her passions were art and reading. Her pastime was classic movies. Evelyn leaves behind one daughter, Alison Patton; two grandchildren, Chris Patton and Elizabeth Henson; and three great-grandchildren, Jora, Kannon, and Jozi Henson. A memorial service will be held at 2 p.m. on Jan. 7, 2013 at First Lutheran Church at 8th and Rock Street in Little Rock. Memorials may be made to the Arkansas Arts Center. To sign her guestbook, please visit www.arkansasfuneralcare.com. Arrangements made by Arkansas Funeral Care, Jacksonville.