Kelsang Longku (Allan Durrant)

Madison - Kelsang Longku passed away on February 12, 2022, at the Kadampa Meditation Center in Madison.  He was born Randolph Allan Durrant on June 6, 1936, in Philadelphia, PA.  He was preceded in death by his parents, Randolph Allan Durrant, Adelaide Regina Banks, and his brother Regan Alfred Durrant.

Allan earned a BA in History from LaSalle College in 1958, MA in Slavic History from Marquette University in 1965, and an MLS from Rutgers University in 1968.  He served as a Second Lieutenant in the US Army, active duty from 1958 to 1961 and Reserves until 1965.  He was a reference librarian and bibliographer at Essex City College from 1970 until his retirement in 1989.  A world traveler, he cared deeply for the welfare of others, and for social and environmental justice.  After a decades-long search for a spiritual path, he was ordained as a Buddhist monk in the New Kadampa Tradition and became known as Kelsang Longku in 2004.  Known for his cheerful disposition, compassion, and steadfastness, Longku served, studied, and practiced at the Kadampa Meditation Center in Madison, Wisconsin.

Memorials may be made to the Kadampa Meditation Center, 1825 South Park Street, Madison, WI 53713.

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