Birth date: Jun 8, 1948 Death date: Nov 3, 2017
Decatur – Thomas Dean “Tom” Durbin, 69, of Decatur, passed away Friday, November 3, 2017, at Fair Havens Christian Village, Decatur. Tom was born June 8, 1948, in Decatur the son of Dean Howard and Betty Jean (Cheeley) Durbin. Tom Read Obituary
To the Durbin Family-We are so sorry to learn about Tom's passing. We send you love and peace. God bless-John, Tammy, & Alex Sobottka
My sincere condolences to all of Tom's surviving family and close friends. Tom was an outstanding educator and scholastic bowl coach, whom many of us admired as his colleagues and fellow scholastic bowl coaches. In the 90s Tom was our association president and a model coach. No matter how close a match was, Tom was always calm and confident in his teams. Because of him they were extremely well coached and cool under pressure. If one of my teams ever beat one of his( a rare occasion indeed), I felt like we were making good progress.Tom and his teams hosted well-run tournaments in Decatur, where the question quality was much better than other tournaments in those early years of scholastic bowl growth.Tom had a lot to do with that growth as president of the state steering committee. He gathered a group of committed coaches to serve and foster the expansion of scholastic bowl throughout Illinois. From fewer than 100 member coaches over 20 years ago, thecoaches' association now has over 300 members.Tom's legacy is one of service to the many students he taught and coached and to the Illinois High School Scholastic Bowl Coaches' Association. He was fittingly inducted into our Hall of Fame in the inaugural class. Tom had a very positive impact on all those students and his colleagues, and they are all better for knowing him. Nick Pitz, retired scholastic bowl coach, Moline High School
Some of my best memories from high school were in Mr. Durbinâ??s classroom. He had a way of not just engaging a student, but keeping them interested in the subject matter. He was a ray of light in an otherwise sour place.
I only had the opportunity to coach against Tom Durbin once, but I had met him many times. In the Illinois quizbowl community, he was held in exceptional regard, considered one of the very best coaches that the state of Illinois ever produced. I remember visiting his room, which was a museum of his team's accomplishments, but I was more impressed with the leftovers of a party he had hosted the evening before for players who either couldn't afford or didn't get invited to prom. Men like him are rare. To his family, I extend my condolences. His service to others will endure.
I had two classes at MacArthur with Mr. Durbin in high school: Freshman Honors English & Shakespeare as a Junior (which he admitted was designed as a Senior blow off class so the two of us that took it as Juniors were able to get away without taking a final).He was personable and kind and always willing to engage students regardless of if they were in his class or not. I remember visiting his classroom even when I didn't have any classes with him before school, and he was always so kind & encouraging. Mr. Durbin was a bright light for learning in a dim & dreary place for so many. He knew how to push his students while also making the challenging journey of gaining knowledge so much more enjoyable. The world lost an excellent educator & caring mentor.
Nobody loved books more than Tom. The Friends of Decatur Public Library loved to see him come to our monthly Second Saturday Books Sale at DPL, pushing his cart, first heading straight for the Biographies. Not only was Tom a supportive patron, but also he volunteered each Labor Day weekend for the big used book sale at the Civic Center. He missed this year and we missed him………and will keep missing him.Godspeed, Karen Penn
So saddened to hear of Mr. Durbin's transition. He was a soft spoken teacher at MHS but spoke very passionately about literature. My thoughts and prayers are with the family.
Tom was one of best teacher's while I was at MacArthur. If he saw something in you he would help you anyway that he could. I stayed in touch with him for a few years after H.S. He always had a open heart and a would lend a ear. He helped me through a lot after H.S. He will be truly missed.
You made it your mission to inspire and educate new generations of Decaturites, and in that you succeeded tremendously. I'm proud to know you. The world needs more people like you, and because of your teaching, it will. Rest easy.
I remember taking that profile picture of him at Krannert. We were seeing Don Quixote and I was so excited to finally get a willing picture of him!Heâ??ll be dearly missed. It will always be a deep regret of mine to not have been around in the end. The world is better having had you in it.You were a great teacher, and a wonderful, caring individual with an iron sense of duty.Rest easy.
