Obituary of Della Durant

Della Durant, 84, of State College, died peacefully on Tuesday, August 20, 2013, at The Atrium of the Village at Penn State. Born February 27, 1929, in Great Barrington, Massachusetts she was the daughter of the late Edward and Louise Durant. She is survived by her brother E. Terry and his wife, Martha, of The Villages, Florida, three nephews and wives, Edward C. (Tara) of Fredericksburg, VA, Nicholas (Donna) of Phoenixville, PA and Timothy (Francesca) of Glastonbury, CT., 10 grand-nieces and nephews and her friend and housemate for over 50 years, Martha (Marty) Adams. Della graduated from the Searles High School in Great Barrington. She earned her Bachelor's degree from Russell Sage College and her Master's degree from the Pennsylvania State University. Both degrees were in Physical Education. Before coming to Penn State as a Graduate Assistant in 1955 she taught Physical Education at both the Beard School in Orange, NJ and the University of Deleware in Newark. In 1956 she was retained by Penn State as an Instructor of Physical Education and remained there until her retirement in 1989 as an Associate Professor and Assistant Athletic Director. While at Penn State, Della was instrumental in the development of the Women's Intercollegiate Sports Program and helped launch the dreams of thousands of women into intercollegiate athletics at Penn State and the nation. She began as the advisor of the Women's Recreation Association and in 1964, with the initiation of the Women's Varsity Sports Program, was selected as the first Coordinator of this Program. When the men's and women's intercollegiate programs were combined 1n 1973, she was named an Assistant Athletic Director. Before the full development of this program, Della was a caring and successful advisor and teacher of physical education in both the general and professional programs. She was known as an expert when it came to teaching fear cases in swimming. During the large part of her tenure this was important because the successful completion of the University swimming test was a requirement for graduation. Della was a pioneer in the development of the Women's Intercollegiate Sports Programs both regionally and nationally. She was an active member of numerous professional associations and served as Treasurer of the Association of Intercollegiate Athletics for women and President of its Eastern Association. She was one of the First women, or perhaps the first, to be selected to the NCAA Council. In recognition of her many contributions, she was inducted into the Hall of Fame of the National Association of Collegiate Athletic Directors and received the Lifetime Achievement Award from the National Association of Collegiate Women Athletic Administrators. Della was also supportive of numerous professional efforts on campus including the Faculty Senate and was also involved in community activities. She was particularly pleased to be a volunteer in the emergency room of the hospital. Graveside Services will be held at the convenience of the family. In lieu of flowers, donations may be made to Penn State in memory of Della for the "Della Durant Endowed Program Fund for Women's Athletics" and sent to I Old Main, University Park, PA 16802. Arrangements are under the care of Koch Funeral Home, State College. Online condolences and signing of the guest book may be entered at www.kochfuneralhome.com.