The Daily O’Collegian

“It was where he ultimately wanted to end up, as ironic as that sounds,” Brem said.

Durfey was one of 10 people on the fateful flight Saturday evening, killing all those aboard.

Durfey, 38, was a producer and engineer for the OSU radio network. He also worked for OSU’s Educational Television Services since 1988.

Durfey grew up in a broadcasting family. His father owned and operated a small radio station in Wagoner, Okla., where Kendall worked as program director. Younger brother Nelson Durfey, who worked as a newscaster at their father’s station, said broadcasting was “in their blood.”

Born in Hyde Park, N.Y., Durfey moved with his family to Oklahoma in 1977 and graduated from Oral Roberts in 1984 with a communications degree. He then came to OSU to earn a master’s degree in communications.

In 1990, journalism professor John Catsis was hired by OSU’s School of Journalism and Broadcasting. When he arrived at work, he was told Kendall Durfey, then a graduate student, would be his graduate assistant. Catsis worked with Durfey for four straight semesters.

“The kids loved him, just because he was that type of person — very easy to get along with,” Catsis said.

During one semester, Catsis and Durfey went to Stillwater Airport to shoot some film for their students to edit.

“It was up to us to include all the elements of a good video,” Catsis said. “A few days later he told me he’d mistakenly turned the camera off when it was supposed to be on and vice versa. He went out there and filmed a whole new video and I didn’t even know until later.”

After he got his master’s degree, Durfey immediately began a full-time job at ETS, where he had worked off and on since beginning his graduate studies. Catsis remained close friends with him.

“One of the things we did was take a field trip to ETS,” Catsis said. “Nine times out of 10 he’d be our guide.”

“He was basically the number one broadcasting engineer,” he said. “He really knew his equipment, but he grew up in that environment.”

At ETS, Durfey worked closely with Dave Campbell, senior engineer, and James Brem, engineering assistant.

“Kendall and I were the ones who worked in master control,” Brem said. “He was my partner. Now I just have an empty chair in here.”

Brem first met Durfey in 1996.

“Kendall is the reason I got my job here,” he said.

Brem said Durfey always knew how to fix the broadcasting equipment or make it work when no one else could.

“He was one of the best engineers you could ever meet,” he said.

Brem also said Durfey could see the good side of any situation, positive or negative. He said Durfey did work across the country, including working with horse races and freelancing for ESPN.

“So we’ve had people coast-to-coast calling in with their condolences,” he said.

Besides broadcasting, Durfey loved the outdoors. He especially liked to go hiking in the mountains, Brem said.

“Any time he could, he’d pack up and go to Colorado,” he said.

Although Brem still finds it hard to work without his partner, he and Campbell are organizing Durfey’s memorial service and are working together to broadcast Wednesday’s memorial at Gallagher-Iba Arena. Brem said he takes comfort in the fact that Durfey, who was also the production assistant for Tom Dirato and Bill Teegins’ Cowboy sports broadcasts, was with his friend Teegins when the plane crashed.

“I know for a fact Bill and Kendall were sitting side by side.”

Campbell first worked with Durfey in 1988, when he was a graduate student. Campbell said they shared many interests, including the outdoors.

“We always talked about going three-wheeling,” he said. “Unfortunately we never got around to it.”

“He was always quick on his feet,” Campbell said. “Between the two of us there was nothing we couldn’t do. We could always put our heads together and pretty much solve everything.”

“He was the type of guy you could always, beyond a shadow of a doubt, depend on.”

“I always took great pride that he used to ask my opinion a lot.”

Campbell too said Durfey was very skilled in his profession.

“His reputation was just impeccable. You could not find a finer engineer than Kendall. He always made work really fun.”

Campbell said it was hard to express how he felt about his co-worker.

“There are no words to describe the respect I had for him. There will never be another Kendall Durfey.”

Kendall’s brother, Nelson Durfey, found out about the crash while covering the Super Bowl in Florida. Nelson Durfey also works in broadcasting. He owns his own satellite uplink company, Red Dirt Communications.

He was covering Saturday night festivities when he got a page asking him to cover a story in Stillwater.

“He always called when he got off the plane,” Nelson said. “That’s when we knew something was wrong.”

Nelson said his brother loved the outdoors and took every opportunity to travel. In 1985 the two of them rebuilt an old van and used it to travel.

Both Brem and Campbell said work will be difficult for them for a long time.

“I still expect to come into work and see him sitting there,” Campbell said.

“Kendall was a damn good friend,” Brem said.

Kendall Durfey is survived by his wife, Patricia; an 11-year-old daughter, Ashley; his mother, Ellen Warren, and her husband, Fulton Warren. He is also survived by a brother, Nelson; two sisters, Amy and Karlene and two stepsisters, Elizabeth and Deborah.

Services for Durfey are scheduled for 3 p.m. Thursday at Stillwater’s First Presbyterian Church at 524 S. Duncan. An education fund for his daughter has been established. Donations, flowers and cards should be sent to: Colonial Chapel Funeral Home, 515 S. Duncan, Stillwater, OK, 74074. Donations to a memorial fund can also be sent to: BancFirst, P.O. Box 680, Tulsa, OK 74101.