The Rev. John Lawrence Durkin

Rev. John Lawrence Durkin, a ten-year resident of Viera, Fla., formerly of Amenia, N.Y., and Goshen, N.Y., and the Bronx, N.Y., passed away on Monday, May 6, 2019, at Health First Viera Hospital in Melbourne, Fla. He was 79.
He was the beloved pastor of Immaculate Conception Church in Amenia, N.Y., for 21 years.
Son of the late John L. and Anna Mae (O’Carrol) Durkin, he was born on Sept. 12, 1939.
He was a Class of 1960 graduate of Xavier University in Cincinnati, Ohio. He later attended St. Joseph’s Seminary (Dunwoodie) in Yonkers, N.Y., and graduated in 1967. On May 27, 1967, Rev. Durkin received the Rite of Ordination in Christ’s holy Catholic Church.
Following his ordination, the Rev. Durkin served as a priest in the Archdiocese of New York as associate pastor of St. Frances de Chantel Roman Catholic Church in the Bronx from 1967 to 1970. On Sept. 10, 1970, he was appointed to the faculty at Cardinal Hayes High School in the Bronx. In 1982, he joined the faculty of St. John S. Burke High School in Goshen, N.Y. On Aug. 27, 1988, he was appointed pastor of Immaculate Conception Church in Amenia. Following his retirement to Viera in 2009, heserved as an assistant priest at St. John the Evangelist in Viera for six years and resided with his cousin, Joan Egan.
He is survived by a brother, Brian Durkin of Mt. Arlington, N.J.; sisters, Mary Ann Nordhauser of Melbourne, Fla., Lorraine Pagliocca of Goshen, N.Y., and Joan Farone of Fullerton, Calif.; and a cousin, Joan Egan of Viera, Fla.; and several cousins, nieces and nephews.
In addition to his parents, he was predeceased by a brother, William C. Durkin.
Visitation was held May 13 at the Immaculate Conception Church in Amenia. A Mass of Christian Burial was celebrated on May 14 at the Immaculate Conception Church. Burial followed at Gate of Heaven Cemetery in Hawthorne, N.Y.
Memorial contributions may be made to the Immaculate Conception Church, 4 Lavelle Road, Amenia, NY 12501.
Arrangements are under the direction of Hufcut Funeral Home in Dover Plains, N.Y.