Frank Herman Durgin II

FRANK HERMAN DURGIN II, CHEBEAGUE ISLAND, ME – Frank H. Durgin, 89, of Chebeague Island, Maine, died peacefully at Maine Medical Center in Portland, Maine, January 13, 2016. He was born August 24, 1926 in Exeter NH, eldest child of Eudora (Gallant) and John Frank Durgin.

Frank graduated from Phillips Exeter Academy in 1944 and from MIT in 1948. He served in the Army before completing graduate work at MIT and taking a position in the Naval Supersonic Laboratory there. He was best known for his work as the Associate Director of the Wright Brothers Wind Tunnel from 1966 to 1992, where, among many other projects he worked on problems with the John Hancock Tower in Boston. Chebeague was one of two islands where Frank had an impact. Frank so much enjoyed going to Martha’s Vineyard during school vacations when young that he built a vacation home in Aquinnah, MA, which his children still return to each summer.

On June 15, 1953, Frank married Marianne Hamilton of Cape Elizabeth, Maine, who survives him, along with his children John Durgin and wife Joan of Brownsburg, IN; Jane and her husband Arnold Hoffmann of Huntersville, NC; Laura and her husband Willie Corl of Chesapeake, VA; Sally and her husband Michael Wrang of Portland, CT; Frank Durgin III and his wife Jane Gillham of Swarthmore, PA; and by 13 grandchildren. He is also survived by his sister, Mary Klein, of Midlothian, VA.

Donations in Frank’s honor may be made to The Recompense Fund, c/o Maine Community Foundation  •  245 Main Street, Ellsworth, ME 04605