A service celebrating the life of David Marion Dupree, sunrise, 1924, sunset, 2012, Monday, September 17, 2012, 11:00 a.m., Tabernacle Baptist Church, 1223 Laney-Walker Boulevard, Augusta, Georgia, Reverend Charles Goodman, officiating

A SERVICE CELEBRATING THE LIFE OF
Monday, September 17, 2012 11:00 A.M.
1223 Laney-Walker Boulevard Augusta, Georgia
Reverend Charles Goodman, Officiating

Reflecting on a man o f integrity and dignity,

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b o m on Septem ber 10, 1924 in Clemson, South Carolina. Th e son 6t W illiam and Racjfel Dupree,

he displayed an enorm ous am ount o f promise and leadership at a very early age.

Dupree was educated at the Clem son Elem entary School and in 1942 graduated salutatorian at the age o f 16, from Anderson County Training School in Pendleton, South Carolina. He also participated in baseball, basketball (Captain) and was a lead soloist in the choir. Upon graduation, Coach Dupree received a basketball scholarship to Benedict College in Columbia, South Carolina. W hile at Benedict College he played basketball and was encouraged to be a walk-on to the football team. H e im m ediately w on a position as a punter. A fter the fourth game, he becam e the starter at fullback.

H aving m atriculated at Benedict College for one year, the school dropped its athletic program due to World War II. H e decided to withdraw and m ove to Detroit, Michigan and live with his brother Gilbert. In Detroit, he gained em ploym ent as a riveter for the Excello Corporation.

Upon returning to college in 1946 after receiving a scholarship to Johnson C. Smith U niversity he encountered some eligibility rules, and was required to sit out that athletic season which invariably allow ed him to concentrate on academics. During that term, he developed a burning desire to jo in Kappa Alpha Psi Fraternity, Inc. He was initiated into the Alpha Epsilon Chapter o f Kappa A lpha Psi Fraternity in 1946. W hile at Johnson C. Smith University, he becam e an All-C onference fullback, ran track, and was later honored as "Th e Distinguished Alum ni- Class o f 1948." Johnson C. Smith also designated Dupree as "One o f Our Greatest Bulls."

Coach Dupree obtained his first coaching job as H ead Football Coach, and served as a Biology teacher at the Bell Street H igh School in Clinton, South Carolina. One year later, he accepted a job as H ead Football Coach and Biology teacher at A .R Joh n son H igh School in Augusta, Georgia. As fate w ould have it, the position was dissolved w h en A.R. Johnson H igh School and Haines Norm al and Industrial Institute w ere m erged on October 1, 1940 to form Lucy Craft Laney H igh School. Dupree served as an assistant under Coach John M. TUtt until he becam e H ead Football Coach in 1958. Also, in 1958 he received a Master's o f Science in Physical Education from N ew York University.

A fter m ovin g to Augusta, Dupree found his church hom e at Thbernacle Baptist Church where he was an active and dedicated m em ber for over 60 years, serving on the Board o f Trustees, Gospel and Male Choirs.

Coach Dupree amassed an am azing 26 year career that included 210 w ins in football and 2 State Championships in 1966. During his tenure, m any youth under his tutelage w ent on to perform on the collegiate and professional levels. Not to be outdone b y his football prowess, Dupree also achieved 3 State Championships in Track and Field at Lucy C. Laney H igh School.

During his 26 years as head coach o f Augusta's Lucy C. Laney Wildcats, David Dupree gained a reputation as a builder o f young men, a man who insisted long before it became popular with coaches nationwide that his athletes be students first. It wasn't this b elief that led to Dupree being chosen for the 1992 induction into the Georgia Sports Hall o f Fame but it is something he looked on with pride. He believed that academics came first and that the proper values that shape a person for life are far more important than what happens on the football field.
During his years as head coach at Lucy Laney, Dupree started a number o f well-known athletes on their way to stardom. The list includes such famous sports figures as Jim Dent, Emerson Boozer, Chip Banks, Sylvester Boler, Robert Wells, Curtis Rouse, Robert Taylor, George Harold and Mitchell Ferguson. Despite the jo y o f working with such athletes, despite the thrill o f victory, Dupree says he has been just as excited by the success o ff the football field o f some o f those he has coached. "When one o f the members o f m y last team was named valedictorian I was just as excited as I was when we won a game. I thought then that it was a great time to get out o f coaching.''
Dupree retired following the 1983 season after nine seasons as an assistant coach and 26 in the headjob with 210 victories, 79 losses, and 12 ties. He didn't entirely desert the coaching profession, however, switching to Augusta's Paine College where he was instrumental in establishing the Men's and Women's Track and Field teams; after having also coached track at Lucy Laney from 1949 through 1974, during which time he never lost a regular season meet, winning 356 titles, including two state championships. He quickly established a winning tradition in Track and Field at Paine, where his women's team finishing second once and third once in the Southern Intercollegiate Athletic Conference during the first five years o f the program's existence.
Coach Dupree retired in 1999 after an illustrious sports coaching career that included many awards and accolades. Dupree was inducted into the Georgia Sports Hall o f Fame in 1992 and also served as a Board member. He was also awarded an Honorary Doctoral degree from Paine College University in Augusta, GA.
A Life Member o f Kappa Alpha Psi, Dupree was a recipient o f Joseph R. Jenkins Award, which is one o f the highest awards in the Southeastern Province, and he also conferred the Elder Watson Diggs Award which is one o f the highest awards conveyed in the Fraternity.
Coach Dupree was preceded in death by his parents, William and Rachel Dupree, and his beloved sister and brother, Emma and Gilbert. Dupree is survived by his loving and devoted wife o f 61 years, Mrs. Vivian Dupree; daughters, Shedericka Edwards and Davia Denise Dupree o f Augusta; son-in-law, Clifford Edwards, Fairfax, VA; Three grandchildren, Megan Edwards Bland (Percy) College Park, GA; Renee Edwards, San Francisco, CA and Travis Edwards, Augusta, GA; Two great-grandchildren, Jordon Rosier and Ellis Bland; Two nephews, James Butler and Ricky Butler (Tekela), Matawan, New Jersery; One niece, Pauline Rice (Richard Rice), Matawan, New Jersey; Three Godsons, David, Douglas and Brian Prince, Augusta, GA; Devoted family friends, Keven Mack, Mr. Quincy Robertson, and Mr. Bernard Morgan; a host o f cousins, great nieces and nephews, other relatives and friends.

The Reverend Dr. Charles E. Goodman, Jr., Officiating
PROCESSIONAL
PRAYER.........................................................................................Reverend Ronnie O' Spry
SCRIPTURES.................................................................................. Reverend George Miller Old and New Testaments
SELECTION............................................................................. C. S. Hamilton Male Chorus
TRIBUTES (Two M inutes) Mr. Emerson Boozer, Lucy C. Laney Alum Mr. Mitchell Ferguson, Lucy C. Laney Alum Kalvin Roberts, Paine College Alum Johnson C. Smith University, Alumni Mr. Keven Mack, NFL Official Mr. Quincy Robertson, Family Friend Mr. Ricky Butler, Family Member
SELECTION................................................... Thbernacle Baptist Church Sanctuary Choir
REMARKS.........................................................................................Brother Henry Ingram Kappa Alpha Psi Fraternity, Inc.
ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS
EULOGY......................................................... The Reverend Dr. Charles E. Goodman, Jr.
RECESSIONAL................................................................................ "I'm Going Up Yonder"
INTERMENT...................................................................................Mount Olive Cemetery
FELLOWSHIP AND REPAST Thbernacle Baptist Church Family Life Center

WHEN TOMORROW STARTS W ITHOUT ME, AND I'M NOT THERE TO SEE. IF THE SUN SHOULD RISE AND FIND YOUR EYES, ALL FILLED WITH TEARS FOR ME; I WISH SO MUCH YOU WOULDN'T CRY THE WAY YOU DID TODAY, WHILE THINKING OF THE MANY THINGS, WE DIDN'T GET TO SAY I KNOW HOW MUCH YOU LOVE ME, AS MUCH AS I LOVE YOU, AND EACH TIME THAT YOU THINK OF ME, I KNOW YOU'LL MISS ME TOO; BUT WHEN TOMORROW STARTS WITHOUT ME, PLEASE TRY TO UNDERSTAND, THAT AN ANGEL CAME AND CALLED MY NAME, AND TOOK ME BY THE HAND, AND SAID MY PLACE WAS READY, IN HEAVEN FAR ABOVE, AND THAT I'D HAVE TO LEAVE BEHIND ALL THOSE I DEARLY LOVE; BUT AS I TURNED TO WALK AWAY, A TEAR FELL FROM MY EYE, FOR ALL MY LIFE, I'D ALWAYS THOUGHT, I DIDN'T WANT TO DIE. I HAD SO MUCH TO LIVE FOR, SO MUCH LEFT YET TO DO, IT ALMOST SEEMED IMPOSSIBLE THAT I WAS LEAVING YOU. I THOUGHT OF ALL THE YESTERDAYS, THE GOOD ONES AND THE BAD, I THOUGHT OF ALL THE LOVE WE SHARED, AND ALL THE FUN WE HAD. IF I COULD RELIVE YESTERDAY, JUST EVEN FOR A WHILE, I'D SAY GOOD-BYE AND KISS YOU, AND MAYBE SEE YOU SMILE; BUT THEN I FULLY REALIZED, THAT THIS COULD NEVER BE, FOR EMPTINESS AND MEMORIES, WOULD TAKE THE PLACE OF ME.
AND WHEN I THOUGHT OF WORLDLY THINGS, I MIGHT MISS COME TOMORROW, I THOUGHT OF YOU, AND WHEN I DID, MY HEART WAS FILLED WITH SORROW. BUT WHEN I WALKED THROUGH HEAVEN'S GATES, I FELT SO MUCH AT HOME. WHEN GOD LOOKED DOWN AND SMILED AT ME, FROM HIS GREAT GOLDEN THRONE, HE SAID, "THIS IS ETERNITY, AND ALL I'VE PROMISED YOU. TODAY YOUR LIFE ON EARTH IS PAST, BUT HERE LIFE STARTS ANEW. I PROMISE NO TOMORROW, BUT TODAY WILL ALWAYS LAST, AND SINCE EACH DAY'S THE SAME WAY THERE'S NO LONGING FOR THE PAST. YOU HAVE BEEN SO FAITHFUL, SO TRUSTING AND SO TRUE. THOUGH THERE WERE TIMES YOU DID SOME THINGS YOU KNEW YOU SHOULDN'T DO. BUT YOU HAVE BEEN FORGIVEN AND NOW AT LAST YOU'RE FREE. SO WON'T YOU COME AND TAKE MY HAND AND SHARE MY LIFE WITH ME?" SO WHEN TOMORROW STARTS WITHOUT ME, DON'T THINK WE'RE FAR APART, FOR EVERY TIME YOU THINK OF ME, I'M RIGHT HERE, IN YOUR HEART.