A 4th generation Victorian and descendent of the Yates family, Maureen attended Victoria College and earned a BA at UBC. She went on to become an accomplished reporter, feature writer, columnist, and editor at the Ottawa Citizen, Victoria Daily Times, and the Daily Colonist. Her columns often drew upon her family's life on a small farm in View Royal and her amusement over the challenges of raising horses, sheep, chickens, and children.
Maureen was married to Dr. John Duffus, who was Dean of Science and Engineering at Royal Roads Military College and had two sons.
Maureen is also the author of several books including “A Most Unusual Colony”, “Craigflower Country”, “Beyond the Blue Bridge - Stories from Esquimalt”, “Old Langford - An Illustrated History”, and “Battlefront Nurses in World War One”. Maureen was one of the founding members of the View Royal Archives, and in 2012, she was honoured for her decades of community service by being awarded the Queen’s Jubilee Medal.