Eugene Dursin Obituary

Eugene G. Dursin, 88, of Honaunau, Hawaii, passed away peacefully on June 22, 2025 at Kona Community Hospital. He was the beloved husband for 62 years of Susan (Hoch) Dursin. Born in Woonsocket, R.I. he was the son of Marcel M. Dursin and Blanche "Yvonne" Salvas. Eugene was named for his grandfather, who had come from Rubaix, France, at the turn of the last century to establish and manage textile mills for the French owners.

Eugene was a graduate of Assumption Prep, attended Boston College, Oregon State and the University of Oregon. He received a BA and an MA in anthropology from University of the Americas in Mexico City. He spent time with the Lacandone Indians in Chiapas. Under a Carnegie Grant, he lived with the BriBri Indians in Costa Rica and wrote a monograph on their food sources.

Following a two-year stint in the U.S. Army, he went to Alaska where he worked for the Bureau of Land Management. Eugene enjoyed skiing, surfing, bicycling, running, hunting, horse trips in the mountains, paragliding, orchid cultivation and ceramics. He taught school and was principal in two Alaskan schools. He taught anthropology at the community college level.

In 1983 he bought a farm on the Big Island of Hawaii where he grew and processed macadamias and coffee. In 1990 he and Susan moved to Kona where he became president of the Kona Orchid Society and later head of the South Kona Paragliding Club.

Eugene is survived by his wife and his sister Michele (William) Lilly, and by his god-daughter, Marilyn (Xavier) Cross Piedra and other nieces and nephews. He was predeceased by his brother, Marcel M. Dursin (Leonora,) and his sisters Jacqueline Gannon (James) and Suzanne Cross (David.) Burial will be private. Expressions of sympathy may be made to Hawaii Public Radio, hawaiipublicradio.org or HPR, 738 Kaheka Street, Honolulu, Hi 96814 with notation "In memory of Eugene Dursin."