Duncan Cameron Jr.

May 14, 1932 - December 21, 2019

Duncan Cameron Jr. Sadly passed away on December 21, 2019 at the age of 87. Beloved husband of the late Priscilla A. Cameron. Loving father of Dawn, Todd, Mark and the late Cameron. Cherished grandfather of Duncan, Erica, Kelly, Mark and Matthew. My Dad was born in Huntington Hospital, in the tiny little brick building that still stands today, surrounded by the giant modernized addition that has been added over the years. “that’s amazing” he would say every single time we would have to visit there, for someone else, of course and he just couldn’t get over how huge it was. The thought that this would be not only the place he came into the world, but where he departed from as well, never crossed any of our minds. Dad was the only child to Emma and Duncan, Sr. He was born soon after our Grandparents came to this country from Scotland and from what he’s told us, “went straight to work”. He also walked to school every day in the snow, barefoot and uphill both ways. He grew up on the beach in Huntington Bay and developed a love for the water. Swimming, fishing and boating were a great part of his childhood and continued well into adulthood. He absolutely passed it down to us. Dad and Mom were married for 64 years. They shared a love that not everyone would understand, but would be lucky to experience. He must have missed her so badly that he needed to be with her only 5 months after she left us. I can just seem them now. Dad saying….”this place is AMAZING”…..and Mom telling him to hurry up and get over here, not there!” I remember, as a little girl, going out on the boat with my Mom, Dad and my three brothers to go fishing. Dad taught me how to bait my line, by getting that hook right through the eye of the shiner. However, holding that fish by the gills was not going to happen for me no matter how many I caught. He would get amusingly frustrated when he was trying to take a picture of my holding the fish and dropping it. I also remember my brothers bringing home fish, all the time, and just putting them on the workbench in the garage for my Dad to clean and fillet them. I thought it was so cool to watch him start to clean the fish, but then the scales started flying everywhere and I was out of there. It was good eatin’ though! Sunday mornings, way back then, was the time that we got dressed up and went to church. Dad’s shoes would have a shine on them that you would need sunglasses to look at. Mark learned how to get his shoes shined as well, as they stood around the shoe shine box and used his special tools to get the job done. You would think he kept money in that box, the way he protected and guarded it. Some of my fondest memories were spending the late afternoon or evening with Dad watching him eat clams that were brought over to him by the boys and their friends. He would steam them and eat one by one as he listened to Mystery Theater on the radio on the kitchen nook corner. He would make the creaking door noises and footstep noises along with the radio show. I was so scared and loved it at the same time. Dad had a love for Ham Radio. His set up was like that of a computer nerd today. A whole room dedicated to his radio system and talking with people from all over the world. I will never ever forget KW-250 NAVAJO (NA-VA-HO) being his “handle”. (again something else I as not able to touch). This hobby certainly got passed down to my brother Mark. As we got older and started having lives of our own, we would still gather at Mom and Dad’s for every holiday and birthday. There was always that warm feeling when you walked in smelled the smell of the house, seeing Dad with his glass of Scotch -and water – as he sat at the table spinning it around and around. Making a fire in the fireplace was a common practice for him that he was very proud of. On the very special occasions he would make a fire in the upstairs fireplace too. He worked hard as a self-employed florist. Employing each of his children at one time or another, even though he was the only one with the real talent to make the most gorgeous arrangements. He brought joy into all his customers lives by the way of flowers. Births, deaths, weddings, bar mitzvahs, whatever the occasion, he always put 100% of his talent and love into his work. Dad has 5 grandchildren and one great granddaughter. All of whom he got to know and love. Little Duncan, lived with Dad for several years. (he was kind of the 5th go around for raising children) Unfortunately little Duncan is in Texas now and couldn’t make it to join us on this occasion but his love and energy is here in NY with us. Erica always stood up to Poppy…….she wouldn’t let him complain about aches and pains that weren’t really there. “don’t be such a baby” she would say as she is clipping stiches from his head from a previous fall he had. He was more worried about her cutting some of his hair than anything else. He’s very proud of her and what she is striving to be in her life. Kelly and Dad had and on-going game of the “belly-poke”. Back and forth they would try to startle and tickle each other, every time they were together. He then fell in love with Harley, his first Great Grandchild. The were so cute to watch together. Little Mark always had a big hug ready for Poppy. He got the same right back! The in-depth conversations between the two of them was nice to see. Matthew and Poppy share the love and ear for music. Dad would tell Matty all about his love of playing the violin for so many years. He loved to listen to Matthew play and looking at the smile on his face as he listened to Matthew is indescribable. The three of them loved to go fishing, even though Poppy would always catch the biggest fluke! We are blessed to have had our Dad for 87 years. There are so many families that don’t get to have their parents around as long as we did. We are so grateful and thankful for us all to be together today to reflect.