| Sources |
- [S5] Obituary.
SARANAC LAKE ? Donald V. Dupree, Sr., 74, of 3 Center Street, died Saturday, May 1, 1993, at the Adirondack Medical Center at Saranac Lake.
Born Feb. 10, 1919 at the home of his parents at 4 Merrill Street, he was the son of Syriac and Mary Etta (McGrain) Dupree Jr. (III). He was one of 13 children.
He was a graduate of Saranac Lake High School and attended Colorado State College. He was then drafted into the U.S. Army. He served during World War II, from July 17, 1941 to Dec. 22, 1945. He was in the first troop deployment to arrive in Pearl Harbor after the Dec. 7 bombing. He was commissioned as a 2nd lieutenant in 1943. During his military service, he served four-and-a-half years in the intelligence OSS, in the Pacific and Burma. He was commissioned to 1st Lt. while on active duty and volunteered for Burma duty, serving with Merrill's Mauraders. He also served with the OSS in Kunming, China.
Upon returning home from the military, he entered the construction business with his father and brothers, as Dupree and Sons. Among the structures built by the family were the Thompson building, the Eagles Nest, and post-war remodeling of many of the older homes in the community. He had also worked on the construction of the New York State Thruway. He later was employed by North Country Community College as the director of buildings and grounds, retiring in 1981. He was then called back as clerk of the works of the new maintenance building and was kept on for a time in the building and grounds department.
He was an active bobsledder from 1936 to 1952. He received a bronze medal as a member of the 1948 Olympic four-man bobsled team. The sled was driven by Jim Bickford, and also included his brother, Billy Dupree, and Tom Hicks. He was also a charter member of the Saranac Lake Bobsled Club. He served as chairman of many committees in World Bobsled Championships. In 1946, at the age of 26, he became the youngest elected Saranac Lake Village trustee, serving as a Republican trustee for one term. He had also served as chairman of the Saranac Lake Village Republican Committee, chairman of the North Elba Assessment Review Board, was a member of the North Elba Planning Board, a member and trustee of the B.P.O.E, Elks Lodge No. 1508, a member of the American Legion, and was inducted into the Saranac Lake Redskin Hall of Fame in 1992.
He married Vivian Noelk in 1943. She died on Nov. 25, 1973. He then married Beverly Tripp, in Saranac Lake, on July 9, 1977.
Survivors include his wife; one son, Donald V. Jr. of Bath; one daughter, Mrs. Judith Anne Worden of Bath; two stepsons, Joseph L. Rinella of the State Department, abroad, and Gregory F. Rinella of Warrensburg, Mo.; two stepdaughters, Teresa M. Hafler of Alplaus, and Beverly Anne Rinella, of Hartford, Conn.; three sisters, Mrs. Edward (Marie) Fogarty of Saranac Lake, Mrs. Dean (Muriel) Anson of Marion, Ohio, and Mrs. Edward (Elizabeth) Doyle of Saranac Lake; two brothers, Raymond of Fort Covington, and Robert of Saranac Lake; 13 grandchildren, one great-grandson, and many nieces and nephews.
He was predeceased by two sisters, Eileen Wood and Leona Dupree, and three brothers, William, Bernard and Paul.
Calling hours will be from 7 to 9 p.m. today and from 2 to 4 p.m. Tuesday May 4 at the Fortune-Keough Funeral Home. An American Legion Service will be held at 7:45 tonight followed by an Elks service at 8. A Bible vigil service will be held at 8 p.m. Tuesday. A Mass of Christian burial will be celebrated at 11:15 a.m. Wednesday at St. Bernard's Church. Burial will be at a later date in the Pine Ridge Cemetery.
Memorial donations may be made to the High Peaks Hospice or St. Bernard's School in care of the funeral home.
Adirondack Daily Enterprise, May 3, 1993
|
1919 - 1993 (74 years)
