Alfred (Al – Shrimpy) R. Dufva, 95, died peacefully on Thursday, September 19, 2024. He was born on October 21, 1928, to the late Antii and Lempi Dufva in Ashburnham. Alfred was raised and influenced by the Finnish communities in Ashburnham and then in Worcester.

He is a 1947 graduate of North High School in Worcester and went on to attend Worcester Junior College. He was drafted into the United States Army in 1951. He was deployed to Korea and received the Korean Service Medal with 3 bronze stars before being honorably discharged in 1952.

After his time in the Army, he went on to attend the University of Massachusetts in Amherst, earning a bachelor’s degree in engineering. He spent his career in the field of metallurgy, working for American Steel and Wire in Worcester, then for numerous companies in the brass industry of Waterbury, CT. He retired in 1994 from Linburg Heat Treating in 1994.

Alfred married the love of his life in 1954, Betty Jane Helenius who came from the Finnish community. They had three children – Jodi, Mark and Heidi. The family moved from Worcester to Wolcott, CT where they lived until 1968. Only to return gladly to the state of their birth. Guided by Alfred’s work the family moved to Westfield.

The family vacationed annually at the North of the Highland Campground in North Truro, MA. It was Al and Betty’s dream to retire on Cape Cod. In 1994 they purchased a house in Yarmouthport.

Alfred was a 32nd degree Mason and was very active with the Rainbow Girls in Westfield. He is a past President of the Retired Men’s Club of Cape Cod. He enjoyed bowling and was especially fond of golfing. He was a member of the Bass River and Bayberry Hills Golf Course in Yarmouth until 2022.

Another love of Alfred’s was music. He was a daily listener and even claimed he could not live without it. He loved dancing with his daughters in the kitchen whenever they came by for a visit. His final days were spent surrounded with the sounds of Frank Sinatra.

Alfred was a great and loving man who will be sorrily missed.

He is predeceased by his wife, Betty Jane (Helenuis) Dufva, his son, Mark A. Dufva and his grandson, Neil Dufva.

Alfred is survived by his daughter; Jodi Deuger and her husband Mark of Groton and Heidi Dufva and her husband Craig Obrey of Somersworth, NH, his daughter-in-law Leonila Dufva, five grandchildren and four great grandchildren; Drew Deuger and his wife Bridget Bentley of Evanston, IL, Nicole Dufva and her husband Harley Hensler of St. Pete, FL, Melanie Dufva and her husband Brent Oneill of Golden, CO, Breanna and Robin Harding of Somersworth, NH, and Brett Koprowski and Lily Morgan of Webster.

A visitation will be held on Friday, October 4, 2024, from 11:00 am to 12:00 pm at Miles Funeral Home, 1158 Main Street Holden. A funeral service will follow the visitation, after which burial will take place at Worcester County Memorial Park.