Dr. Eleanor Duff

OLIVE BRANCH, Ill. — Dr. Ruth Eleanor Duff, 89, of Olive Branch died Sunday, Dec. 31, 2023, at Saint Francis Medical Center in Cape Girardeau.

Eleanor was born Dec. 19, 1934, at the family home near Thebes, Illinois, to Richard Ernest and Ruth Ethel Dickerson Duff.

She was a member of Olive Branch United Methodist Church. Eleanor attended Olive Branch Elementary School and graduated from Thebes Township High School. She earned a Bachelor of Science in Education from Southeast Missouri State College and a Master of Science in Education and a Doctor of Philosophy in Elementary/Early Childhood Education from Southern Illinois University. She began her teaching career at Twente School near Olive Branch, one of the last two-room schools in Alexander County at that time. She taught at Freeburg (Illinois) Elementary School for five years. She always, however, described the two years at Twente School, along with the families in that community, as one of the most valuable and enjoyable times of her teaching career.

Following the completion of her doctorate in 1973, Eleanor joined the faculty as an associate professor of Early Childhood Education, College of Education at the University of South Carolina in Columbia. She was awarded a full professorship in 1982. Eleanor served in a number of capacities: Graduate faculty, Early Childhood Education; director, Children's Center (demonstration and research center); assistant dean for academic affairs; and later, associate dean of the college. In 1991, she was named to the John Swearingen Professorship in Education. She retired in 1995 as distinguished professor emeritus.

Her international experiences included serving as a member of a Fulbright Study Seminar in Pakistan (1983); from 1984 through 1991, she served as an early childhood consultant to the Noor Hussein Foundation in the Kingdom of Jordan.

Eleanor took service to the teaching profession seriously as manifest in her work with the major national and international organizations supporting the care and education of young children and the preparation of teachers. She worked extensively with the following: Association for Childhood Education International (ACEI); National Association for the Education of Young Children (NAEYC); Southern Early Childhood Association (SECA) and American Association of Colleges of Teacher Education (AACTE).

Following her return to Southern Illinois in 1996, Eleanor was appointed professor and chairwoman of the Department of Elementary, Early and Special Education at Southeast Missouri State University. She served in this role until her retirement in 2005.

In her community, she served as a member of the Olive Branch United Methodist Church Council, Dodge Memorial Library and Thebes Historical Society. She served as secretary of the Olive Branch Cemetery Association.

Eleanor is survived by numerous nieces and nephews about whom she often said how she "loved being an aunt!" While she tended to be a little bossy, she always felt it was her role to "share perspectives on things" — never advice — just pointing out different ways of looking at situations.

She was preceded in death by her parents; three sisters, Geneva Mae (Ralph) Watson, Gladys Marie (Roffie) Clark and Delphia Jane (Anton) Schauwecker; and three brothers, Herman Leslie Duff, Lawrence Edgar (Grace) Duff and Elvis Ernest Duff.

Visitation will be from 4 to 8 p.m. Friday, Jan. 12, at Crain Funeral Home in Tamms, Illinois, and from 10 to 11 a.m. Saturday, Jan. 13, at Olive Branch United Methodist Church.

Funeral service will be at 11 a.m. Saturday, Jan. 13, at the church, with the Rev. Brent Gordon officiating. Burial will follow at Rose Hill Cemetery in Thebes.

In lieu of flowers, donations may be made to Olive Branch United Methodist Church, Dodge Memorial Library, Thebes Historical Society or the Rose Hill Cemetery Fund and will be accepted at the funeral home.