Born in Richmond, Virginia on February 21, 1938, Durrette was raised in Franklin, and attended an all-white high school during Massive Resistance.

[2] While his father helped build chemical plants for DuPont, Durrette moved to Staunton and lived with aunts while attending the Virginia Military Institute.

degree cum laude, and then planned to teach political science, attending the Johns Hopkins University and receiving a M.A.

During the Vietnam War, Captain Durrette served in the U.S. Air Force as a lawyer, assigned to California and SEA (1966–68).

[3] He married Cheryn Durrette and had seven children, living in Fairfax after his military service, then moving to the Richmond suburbs in 1985.