Obituary: Don Duarte
Donald Sterling Duarte was born November 25, 1927 in Massena NY. Don's father, Alexandre, was an immigrant from Portugal. His mother, Anne, was a Mohawk Indian from a reservation in Canada. They had three children, Alexander, Donald and Richard (Skip). His father worked long hours to provide for the family. His mother took care of the home, as well as made clothes for the boys. Don graduated from Massena High School with Honors. He served in the Army which provided his college tuition through the GI Bill. While attending Clarkson University, he earned memberships in both The National Chemical Engineering Society and National Engineering Society. Upon graduation, he was employed by Dupont in a program which was part of the Manhattan Project. Don was very proud to have worked for a great American company. He retired from Dupont in 1990.
Don married the love of his life, Evelyn (Ebba). They had many stories about each other and things they did. She was not only beautiful but an excellent cook and home decorator. She was a loving mother to her daughter Jo Ann, grandmother to Todd and Kellie Hatfield, and a great grandmother to Todd Jr. Don was always more social than any other engineer I knew. He made friends of all generations and interests. With the loss of Evelyn in 1997, He sought and found many friends that helped fill the void. He became friends with Eryn Eubanks Miller, an accomplished musician. Through that friendship, he made many wonderful friends. Many evenings were filled playing competitive pool with friends, Terrell, Sam, Melvin, Larry, Chris, and Darrell. Don often commented that each of them were such good men.
His Duarte family were: cousins Jane Wood and May Lynn Sharlow; Brother Alex's children: Christine Duarte, Ann Henry, Donald Duarte, John Duarte, Paula Duarte, Elizabeth Duarte; Brother Skip's children: Nancy Duarte West, her husband, Ed West, Eileen Duarte Mulley, her husband, George Mulley, Mark Duarte, Bruce Duarte, Terri Duarte Forrest, her husband, Brian Forrest.
Ever the engineer, he donated his body to the medical college to study. Don was elated to find out how excited the college to get someone as old as he was to study.
“To Deborah Rodriguez, Nessa Gilmore, Barry Nix, my deepest appreciation. I told you my jokes, you gave me ice cream anytime, and you woke me up to watch the Braves. You took great care of me. You were always there.”
We will have a get together September 19 around 2:00 PM, for family and friends to share some time remembering a good man and his life.
Published by The Augusta Press from Sep. 14 to Sep. 15, 2026.