Jack Duer III

John Henry Duer III, affectionately known as Jack or Jackie, passed away peacefully at Harrison House of Snow Hill, Maryland on July 25, 2020.  The son of John H. Duer, Jr. and Ruth Kilmon Duer DeMontier, he was born April 2, 1934 at home in Painter, Virginia, where he grew up with his sister, the late Jane Duer Chandler.

Jack called the Eastern Shore of Virginia “God's Country,” and loved hunting, skeet shooting, reading, swimming, telling stories and jokes, and remembering the good old days growing up on the Eastern Shore with all his friends. He loved to eat good food, was a worldwide traveler, and spent the winters in Hilton Head Island, South Carolina. His close friends remarked that you can take Jack out of the country, but you cannot take the country out of Jack.

He graduated from Episcopal High School in Alexandria, Virginia in 1953, where he excelled in football, shot put and wrestling. He then attended The College of William & Mary in Williamsburg, Virginia, where he met his sweetheart Marjorie Valentine Willard. They were married on the Eastern Shore on May 7, 1955 and enjoyed 65 wonderful years together.

Jack worked with his father at Duer Produce Farms, Inc., which had offices in Painter and Pompano Beach, Florida. Eventually, he bought the business from his mother and was a remarkably successful farmer, and always looked after other farmers. He was kind, loving, giving, honest and hardworking, caring about everyone he met whom he could help. He completed the development of Hillsborough, a residential community in Belle Haven, Virginia, where he resided for a better part of his life and raised his family. He was a wonderful husband, father, and friend.

He was a giving member and investor in his community, and benefactor to numerous organizations, notably including: Farmers and Merchants National Bank, Belle Haven Presbyterian Church, the Eastern Shore of Virginia Community Foundation, The College of William & Mary, Salisbury University Foundation, and Episcopal High School.

He is survived by his wife Marjorie Willard Duer of Salisbury, Maryland; his son John H. Duer IV of Tangier, Morocco and Granada, Spain; his daughters, Read Duer Landen and her husband of Newport, North Carolina, and Julie Duer Clayton and her husband John Henry Clayton of Salisbury and Ocean City, Maryland; three grandchildren, Thomas Duer Landen, Marjorie Read Landen and Jacqueline Valentine Clayton; and two great-grandchildren.

A graveside service in celebration of Jack’s life will be held at the St. George’s Episcopal Church Cemetery on Saturday, April 15, 2023 at 2:00 p.m., with The Reverend Linda Rogers officiating. A reception will follow the service.

In lieu of flowers, please send donations in Jack’s name to any of the following:  Eastern Shore of Virginia Community Foundation, Post Office Box 205, Onley, VA  23418 (https://www.esvcf.com/donate), Episcopal High School, ATTN: Advancement Office, 1200 North Quaker Lane, Alexandria, VA 22302 (http://www.ehsrollcall.org/), or to The College of William & Mary, ATTN: Office of University Advancement, Gift Accounting, Post Office Box 1693, Williamsburg, VA  23187-1693 (https://giving.wm.edu/give-now/).

Memory tributes may be shared with the family at www.williamsfuneralhomes.com.

Arrangements by the Williams Funeral Home in Onancock, Virginia.

To send flowers to the family or plant a tree in memory of Jack Duer III, please visit our floral store.