Some very sad news

[Kevin Meyers]

Such tragic news. Dominic will be forever remembered by ZLA and forever missed by so many personal friends that he made through aviation.

Rest in peace, my friend.

[sheza]

My God, how shocking and tragic is this news!

A truly likeable and genuinely all round nice guy.

So sad that he passed away so early in life.

He still had a lot to give to this world.

Shez

[Andrew Doubleday]

I never met Dominic, but during my time with ZLA I did talk with him and work traffic with him quite a bit... He seemed like a great guy.

Rest in Peace, DD... God Bless.


Sincerely,

[Nicholas Mokover]

RIP double D; great friend, terrific mentor, amazing person. He was always there when I was struggling through my BUR_APP training whether he was flying N997SP a 777 into SMO or being the only mentor who would brave NM the horror on APP, he was always there to support and guide me. We've been close for many years now, and I can safely say that we all love Dominic. His sense of humor was contagious, whether he was sending you a PM or drunk texts some night. I was so looking forward to fly our respective cherokee equipment this summer, but I guess that'll be off for now. He has been with ZLA for so long, and always helped however he could. A post can't really do justice to him, but I'm just proud to say that I knew DD. He was great. And I'll miss him.

RIP Brother.

[Juan Bezoya]

He was one of the first pilots I had while working tracon. He used to fly to SBA and request all sorts of things and then telling me how to do them correctly and many tips to improve my controlling. I'll also remember last year during 16R event he was at VNY TWR. I'd never seen so much traffic, at least 4 guys in the pattern for each runway. However, even busy, he still had time to joke over teamspeak and make everyone smile.

You'll be missed DD
RIP

[Ryan Guffey]

Its always hard to see a friend pass. I finally got to meet Dominic in person at the ZLA dinner. Great guy and and great friend to many people here at ZLA. He will be forever missed and will always in everyone's heart.

[Cpilotw]

I am still in complete shock and at loss for words.

You were a great friend Double-D, since our career-long S-3 days years ago. You never failed to make us laugh and would take someone under you wing in a heartbeat if in need.

So many memories that will be instilled in our hearts forever. More specifically, all the times we joked/laughed online (mostly at/about me)...the dinners...Mardi Gras and your experience with cajun food...the list goes on and on.

God has another angel right next to him. Prayers go out to Dominic, Ms. Sabine and family.

Blue skies, Double - D. Rest In Peace, my friend.

[Brian Ratledge]

My heart is broken. One of my first friends here at ZLA. A great man. Ride on DD. You are missed.

[Sean Suetsugu]

While I never got to meet him, I am sure DD was an amazing person. I send my prayers to his friends and family, as they have suffered a terrible loss. Rest in Peace Dominic

[Steve Ruiz]

I woke up beside myself upon reading this.
RIP, Dom. You're laughter and spirit will be missed by many.

[Eric Stearns]

Wow...unbelievable. Definitely one of those people who shined bright. DD, you'll be missed!

[ScottSimmons]

I worked with Dom at the City of Moreno Valley long before I began flying on VATSIM.
I was flying KSAN-KLAX one day and saw that LAX_APP was online. This was a couple of years after Dom had moved on from the City.
I was surprised to see that the controller's name was Dominic Durden. I didn't know that Dom was involved with aviation.
I figured that it had to be him, though. What is the likelihood of there being 2 people with the same name.
I PM'ed him and asked, "Are you the same Dominic Durden that used to work for the City of Moreno Valley?"
He replied (typical Dom), "Depends on who's asking", followed by "Scott from I.T.? Hey, how's it going..."
What a pleasant surprise finding someone I knew on VATSIM.
Dom was an extraordinary human being and will be sorely missed.

Here is a link to the story of this tragedy in the Riverside Press Enterprise:
http://www.pe.com/local-news/riverside- ... driver.ece

[Brad Littlejohn]

I normally wouldn't ask this, nor would I ask anyone to do this. If you do, it will be of your own volition/choice. I know I plan to.

From the comments from Scott's article:

With the blessing of Dominic's family, we are establishing a scholarship at Riverside Community College District to give to future EMT students. As many of you know, Dominic always gave back to the community and this scholarship will be a way to ensure that his memory and legacy lives on. We are still working on the link to donate online, but in the mean time we are asking that in lieu of flowers, please contribute to the Riverside Community College District Foundation - Dominic Durden Memorial Scholarship, 4800 Magnolia Avenue, Riverside, CA 92506.

Another way to contribute:

In lieu of flowers, we are establishing the Dominic Durden Memorial Scholarship to be awarded to an EMT student at Riverside Community College District Foundation. If you would like to give to this scholarship, please follow these instructions:

Please go to http://www.rccd.edu/community/foundatio ... index.aspx and click on the “Make a Gift Now” link in the upper right hand corner. Fill in your personal information at the top, and in the drop down list under “Please Designate My Gift As Follows:” select “College Specific Programs”. In the “College” drop down list, select “Moreno Valley”. Under the Workforce Excellence section, select the button for “Public Safety and Emergency Response programs”. In the bottom box that says “Please accept my gift of $”, type in the dollar amount which you wish to give. Click Next. You will then be redirected to log into PayPal to complete the transaction. Just follow the remaining instructions to complete your donation.

Since this scholarship is in the process of being established, there is no place online to type in that the donation is for the “Dominic Durden Memorial Scholarship”. However, I am working closely with the Riverside Community College District Foundation to ensure that all donations made to the Public Safety and Emergency Response programs as of today are going to be placed in the Dominic Durden Memorial Scholarship just as soon as it becomes established (probably on Monday or early in the week).

Thank you to everyone who chooses to contribute to this scholarship in Dominic’s name. This will truly be a lasting legacy that will help to keep Dom’s memory alive. We love you Dominic!

If you would like, feel free to contribute what you may. I know I am going to send something to the scholarship. We need more people like Dom coming up in the world.

BL.

[Shawn Goldsworthy]

So sad to hear. He was a great man. RIP DD!

[John White]

For all, the services for DD have been announced:

Some news for the many friends, family & coworkers of Dominic Durden,
Services will be at 10:00am on Friday, July 20 at:

Harvest Christian Fellowship
6115 Arlington Avenue
Riverside, CA 92504

Dominic's mother Sabine would like all of Dom's friends & people that have been touched by him to attend.

There will also be a viewing from 5:00pm-8:00pm on Thursday, July 19 at

Miller-Jones Mortuary, Moreno Valley
23618 Sunnymead Blvd
Moreno Valley, CA 92553

Please keep the family in your thoughts & prayers this week and feel free to share this information with any of Dom's friends/coworkers that may not have FaceBook. For all of Dom's fire family, and his RSO dispatch family I believe that Class A Uniforms or Administrative Uniforms will be requested, however I'm sure that there will be an official email with some direction in the near future.

Thanks and I hope to see you all on Friday, Tim