Obituary of Charles W. "Bud" Durant

Charles W. Bud Durant, of Peabody, died Saturday evening at the Radius Healthcare at Danvers after a long illness. He was the husband of Mary L. Walsh-Durant with whom he shared 22 years of marriage. He was born in Haverhill, the son of the late Charles W. and Hilda A. (Thompson) Durant and was a 1940 graduate of Groveland High School. He then was enrolled at the University of So. Carolina for 2 years before enlisting in the US Navy. He served as a pilot for three years during WW 11 prior to his discharge as a lieutenant in 1945. Following his discharge, he resided in Merrimack and Haverhill for over 30 years before moving to Peabody in 1989. He was a member and past president of the Lions Club of Merrimack. He was employed at the United Shoe Machine Corp in Beverly for 40 years rising to the assistant regional manager for the Emhart Division before his retirement in 1984. He was a member of the Quarter century club of the USMC Corp and loved to travel and walk the Beaches of the North Shore. He was also a member of the Naval Reserve units in Salem and Haverhill for 12 years. Surviving him besides his wife are a sister, Marilyn F. Cooke of Haverhill, a nephew, Richard M. Cooke , and his grandnieces, Cameron and Channing Cooke all of Haverhill. A Visitation will be held on Tuesday from 4:00 until 8:00 PM at the Conway, Cahill-Brodeur Funeral Home at the 20 Church Street Peabody location. His funeral will be held on Wednesday at 9:00 AM from the Funeral Home followed by a Funeral Mass in St. Ann’ s Church, Lynn St., Peabody at 10:00 AM. Burial will be in Cedar Grove Cemetery, Peabody. Memorial Donations may be made to the Radius Healthcare at Danvers, Alzheimer’ s unit, 56 Liberty St., Danvers, MA 01923 in his memory.