Godfrey Darby

Godfrey Darby, 95, died on Sunday, 1 March at Ridgecrest Village in Davenport. A memorial
service celebrating his life will be held on Saturday, 7 March at 11:00 a.m. at First Lutheran
Church, Moline. Visitation for friends of the family will be held in the church narthex for an hour
before the service. Memorials may be made to First Lutheran Church or Ridgecrest Village.

Godfrey was born 6 July, 1924 in Welland, Ontario, Canada, the son of Kathleen and Ernest
Darby. In 1941 he enlisted in the Royal Canadian Navy and served convoy duty in the North
Atlantic as an engine room artificer on the Navy escort aircraft carrier HMS Arbiter. He married
his high school sweetheart, Catherine Weir, on 31 July 1946.

In 1950, Godfrey graduated from the Ontario College of Art, built a new home with the help of
his father-in-law, and began working for John Deere at its Welland factory providing assembly
drawings for maintenance manuals. In 1955, he transferred to the John Deere Administrative
Center in Moline, Illinois. He continued as a technical illustrator, creating minutely detailed
cutaway drawings of John Deere equipment prior to the advent of 3D computer graphics.

Godfrey always had a project of some sort in progress around the house, including solo
building a carport and a 400 square foot home addition. His talents were many, including
silversmithing, creating pottery, and building furniture. He also made many paten and chalice
sets for multiple churches in the Quad Cities, as well as in Canada, But, by far, what he was
most proud of was the family he created with the love of his life, Catherine.

Those left to cherish his memory include four children: James (Marie), Bettendorf, IA, Peter
(Virginia), Sanibel, FL, Diane (Stephen) Downing, Champaign, IL, Stephen (Carol), Flower
Mound, TX; eight grandchildren, Jeffrey (Nancy) Darby, El Paso, TX, Kristin (Nathan) Lamb,
Lombard, IL, Thomas (Miranda) Darby, Frederick, MD, Margaret (Bradley) Townsend, Madison,
WI, Brian (Lynda Sherman) Downing, Champaign, IL, Lauren Downing, Brooklyn, NY, Gregory
Darby, Denton, TX, Caitlin (Devon) Bindon, Hurst, TX; four great-grandchildren, Wyatt and
Sydney Lamb, Aurora Darby, and Graham Townsend; and a sister, Audrey Burgess, Burlington,
Ontario.

He was preceded in death by his beloved wife of nearly seventy years, Catherine; brother
Edmund and sister Patricia Promoli.

The Darby family expresses its heartfelt appreciation to the staff of the Crest Heath Care
Center at Ridgecrest Village for the loving care they devoted to Catherine and Godfrey the past eight years. The family invites friends to share stories and condolences at
TrimbleFuneralHomes.com.