Steven Durgo

Steven J. Durgo, 80 of Chambersburg, PA, passed away peacefully, Saturday evening, July 29, 2017 at his home surrounded by his family. Born September 21, 1936 in Derecske, Hungary, he was a son of the late János and Agnes Szucs Durgo. An immigrant fleeing the communist takeover of Hungary in 1956, Steve came to the U.S. not speaking a word of English and having no advanced education. He started as a helper in a manufacturing plant, taught himself English, graduated with a degree in industrial management from ITT Technical School, and rose to top management positions in Fortune 500 companies, including Worthington Pump, American Standard, ITT Grinnell, and Clark Equipment.

Steve was an avowed doubter of the resurrection of Jesus Christ until 2 ½ years ago, when he finally accepted Jesus as his personal savior. He was a member of the Chambersburg Bible Church, where he was baptized at the age of 78 in 2015. Mr. Durgo’s hobby was work, but in his free time he enjoyed studying history. Steve always began conversations with complete strangers, and soon converted them into friends. He was full of boundless energy and developed a late in life penchant for animal cookies.

He is survived by his wife, Julia McAlpin Durgo, whom he married December 24, 1981; two children, Steven Durgo (Kathy) of New York and Tanya Nyusa of Tennessee; four step-children, Joe Kim (Nina) of Pennsylvania, Rachel Davis (Brad) of Florida, Greta Campos (Rob) of Virginia, and Erroll Rohrbacher (Erica) of North Carolina; sixteen grandchildren; and one great-grandchild. Also surviving are two siblings, Mara and Bela, both of Hungary. In addition to his parents, he was preceded in death by five siblings, Gyula, Kato, John, Roszi, and Karoly.

Friends will be received at the Thomas L. Geisel Funeral Home and Cremation Center, 333 Falling Spring Road, Chambersburg, PA on Thursday, August 3, 2017 from 6:00 to 8:00 p.m. A memorial service will be held at the Chambersburg Bible Church, 810 Orchard Drive, Chambersburg, PA on Friday, August 4, 2017 at 11:00 a.m. In lieu of flowers, please send donations to the American Kidney Fund at 11921 Rockville Pike, Suite 300, Rockville, MD 20852, in memory of Steven J. Durgo.