Jan 10, 2020

Dr. James Robert Durig, 84, of Columbia, S.C., passed away Tuesday, January 7, 2020. Dr. Durig was born April 30, 1935, in Buffalo Township, Washington County.

He graduated from Claysville High School in 1953. After working with B&O Railroad for a year, he entered Washington and Jefferson College. He graduated Magna Cum Laude in 1958, and was elected to Phi Beta Kappa. He was awarded the Woodrow Wilson Fellowship to earn his doctorate in physical chemistry at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology. He was a distinguished professor emeritus at the University of South Carolina, where he was a professor from 1962 to 1993 and dean of the College of Science and Mathematics from 1973 to 1993. He was an emeritus professor at the University of Missouri-Kansas City, where he was dean of the College of Arts and Sciences from 1993-2000 and a professor from 1993-2016.

Dr. Durig was one of the most distinguished chemists in the global scientific community. In his 48 years of teaching, he had supervised more than 100 doctoral students and authored more than 1,000 academic refereed journal articles about vibrational and rotational spectroscopy. Dr. Durig also participated in conferences and gave lectures on his scientific expertise all over the world.

He is predeceased by his mother, Roberta Durig; his wife of 60 years, Marlene Sprowls Durig; and brother Bruce Mounts.

Survivors include his brothers, Melvin Mounts of Green Valley, Ariz., and Earl Mounts of Pittsburgh; his children, Douglas Durig of Sewanee, Tenn., Bryan Durig (Marla) of Columbia, S.C., and Stacey Hamm (Kurt) of Columbia, S.C.; and grandchildren, Nicole Durig Quinlan (Rick), Mallory Durig, Delaney Durig, Meagan Durig, Kathryn Hamm, Jamie Hamm and Laura Hamm.

Funeral services will be held at 11 a.m. Saturday, January 11, at Dunbar Funeral Home, Devine Street Chapel, with burial to follow at Elmwood Cemetery. A gathering of family and friends will be held one hour prior to the service in the funeral home and immediately following the graveside service in the chapel in Elmwood Cemetery.

In lieu of flowers, memorial contributions may be made to the Alzheimer’s Foundation, or to the charity of one’s choice.