Jack Duran Sr.-
Hello, My name is Matthew Moses Duran. I am speaking today on behalf of my wife Julia Duran, and our children Milla Duran, Matthew Duran II, and Markus Duran.
Thank you all for attending, and for everyone who knew, admired, and loved my father Jack Duran Sr. This will be a brief tribute to my Dad, if anyone would like to talk more about Jack, please reach out to me, and I’d be happy to make time to visit.
There are so many wonderful memories and stories to share.
Back in the 1980’s, I was a young boy growing up with my brothers in Reno, but we would often times spend summers in Los Angeles. Being the youngest of four brothers, at the time, I had the least interaction with my dad. I knew that he was a Sheriff's deputy, but I didn’t know much about his work, or a lot about him. I remember during this time, there were some really great TV shows that I used to enjoy. Shows like Knight Rider, and the A-Team, these were adventure shows, with Alpha males, who fought for the little guy. There were a couple of shows that I would always try to watch, because they were about Law Enforcement, cops, if you will, that were based in Los Angeles. I took particular interest in shows like TJ Hooker, which was about the LA PD, and another was CHiPs, about the California Highway patrol, and in that show, the good guys would ride around on motor cycles trying to fight crime in Los Angeles. Well one night while visiting in Los Angeles, after watching one of these popular shows at my grandparent’s house, the evening news came on, and I couldn’t believe my eyes, because there on TV was my Dad Jack, dressed in his Sheriff's uniform. There had been a robbery, and shooting, and the suspects were at large. My Dad, Deputy Duran, was on the case. He was speaking out against the violence, and asking the public for information that would help bring the perpetrators to justice. I was in disbelief, I had always wondered about my Dad and his work, and here big as life was the answer.
This experience had a big impact on me, and being a naturally curious kid, it was probably the reason I started asking him lots and lots of questions.
You see my Dad was a hero, not one of the pretend ones on TV, but a real life one.
My Dad had three main greetings when we would meet or speak.
Hey Matt! Was the most common. To which I would say...Hey Dad!
Hello Son, would be one of his more polite greetings, when he knew you were coming to visit.
Oh- Meijo, was for when he wasn’t expecting you.
He was an early riser, and usually up before sunrise, you could find him in the kitchen, having a cup of coffee, while watching his favorite morning news program.
Yes, it’s true, cops love coffee and donuts.
He also loved doing his own landscaping and home maintenance.
He took pride in keeping his property clean and organized, and also taking care of his pets, and keeping his pool sparkling blue.
He enjoyed movies and television, especially rags to riches stories, and movies about the underdog having big moments, stories like Rocky, and Conan.
Yeah, he was an Alpha male for sure.
He loved sports, and would follow lots of the local teams, Dodgers, Angeles, Rams, Lakers, Raiders, USC, and even UCLA.
We got to share lots of sports memories, and that was some of the most enjoyable time I spent with him.
He enjoyed history, including military history.
Of course he loved the US Navy, and our military services.
He had some hobbies, refurbishing classic cars in his younger days, and riding his motorcycles, which he had several over the years.
He really loved living in Ontario with his wife Jeannette, along with his neighbors, and friends.
I never once heard him talk about moving to a new neighborhood, or upgrading to some newer house.
He did notice that the stores and shops kept moving farther away, but nothing more than that.
Dad felt he had it all right there in Ontario.
Most important, he loved his family, and you could see this every time you walked into his family room.
He had a huge wall full of framed family photos.
It was this wall that I remember the most about visiting my Dad.
I could see photos of life before my time, my brothers, and cousins, aunts and uncles, Grandparents, and even some pictures from my Dad’s childhood, and various careers, like the Navy and Sheriff's department.
My Dad was always teaching. He did this through sharing wonderful stories about the past, and by asking open ended questions like, do you know what a Dragnet is?
He was a Southern California guy through and through, and knew the cities and roads from LA to Riverside backwards and forwards.
He believed that life was straightforward, there was right and wrong, good and bad, honest and dishonest.
He understood that everyone faced choices, tests and challenges.
What defines us all are the choices we make and our actions.
He was the kind of man who toughed things out, rather than complain about difficulties or ask for help.
He had all kinds of injuries from falling off ladders while trimming his trees, accidental chainsaw mishaps, trips, spills, and other such accidents that would have done a lesser man in.
Dad would brush himself off, mend himself, and just say it was no big deal, don’t worry about me, I’ll be ok, he would say.
Later in life, he started to take things a bit more carefully, which is natural.
He didn’t have regrets. I would ask him because I’m nosy, looking back, do you have regrets?
No, he would say, you can’t live life like that. You make choices, and live with them.
He did wish he had a little more wisdom at times in his youth, but wisdom is gained through experiences. You don’t know what’s going to happen, until you make a choice and see it through.
Like many of the family members who came before me, I had a chance to see my Dad’s high and lows, and he was part of my life, more or less, for 45 years. I am eternally grateful for those memories and experiences we shared.
Dad was very proud of his son’s and many grandchildren. He was always asking about the grand kids and enjoyed speaking with them. Julia and I would share photos and videos of our kids and he enjoyed that so much. He really believed that his sons were raising a new generation of truly great people and future leaders.
In this world, one man can make a difference. My dad, Jack Duran, was one of those men.
“Dad, we are so proud of you, and all that you did for us over the years. You stood for what’s right, you helped the helpless, and defended the defenseless. You were strong, but good, wise, and generous, and you put others before yourself. We will miss you, love you, and remember you always.”