Grace W. Durnin

Grace W. Durnin, 95, of Carlisle, passed away on Wednesday, March 30, 2022, at the Church of God Home.
She was born October 21, 1926, in Harrisburg to the late Harry and Esther (Waggoner) Witmer. Grace was the widow of John Luther Durnin who passed in 2019.
She was a 1944 graduate of Mechanicsburg High School. Grace helped to organize her class reunions and served as the classes’ secretary for many years. After training in business curriculum, she was employed by the Naval Supply Depot in Mechanicsburg prior to her marriage and giving birth to her two children. When her children were both in school, Grace started working for Cumberland Buildings Company and continued until her eventual retirement.
She was the youngest member of the Witmer Sisters, a trio who sang at churches throughout the area. Grace was a longtime member of Middlesex United Methodist Church where she at one time served as the choir director. She took up the game of golf at the age of 40, secretly taking lessons, and had a hole-in-one while on vacation in Bermuda. Grace was a good card player, she became a welcome bridge partner in the area later in her life. She played both in the Carlisle area and in Harrisburg Bridge Clubs.
Grace is survived by one daughter, Janis E. Durnin of Colorado; one grandson, John L. Durnin, II of East Berlin; one brother, Verle E. Witmer of Virginia; one sister, Joann Eslinger of Mechanicsburg; one daughter-in-law, Linda Marie Durnin of East Berlin; and numerous nieces and nephews. In addition to her parents and her husband, she was preceded in death by one son, Stephen Lee Durnin; three sisters, Leona Judy, Helen Felty, and Pearl Barrick; and one brother, Rev. John Witmer.
A memorial service will be held at 11:00 a.m. on Thursday, April 14, 2022, at Middlesex United Methodist Church, 118 North Middlesex Road Carlisle, PA 17013. A private burial will be at Letort Cemetery.
In lieu of flowers, memorial contributions may be made in memory of Grace to Middlesex United Methodist Church, 118 North Middlesex Road Carlisle, PA 17013 or to the United Methodist Home for Children, 5120 Simpson Ferry Road Mechanicsburg, PA 17050.
To sign the guestbook, please visit www.HoffmanFH.com.