Thursday, June 16, 2011

TRIBUTE TO SGT. ROBERT "PAPA" DUKE


"Dad loved to garden, and well into his seventies, he shared his bounty with 'the elderly' and shut-ins.  He definitely had a green thumb, with fruits and vegetables thriving under his hand, trying to outgrow each other."


In honor of this Father's Day, I wish to share about my late father, Sgt. Robert Duke, an amazing man and such an extraordinary part of my life. 

Dad went home to be with the Lord in October 2000 at age 86.  A main character in both of Shadow's books, it was such a blessing when writing about him, pulling most details from reality.  His storytelling kept us all laughing, and I enjoyed sharing them.  Dad also loved to cook, and he was good at it, having taught himself.  His chop suey, made from scratch and with tender pork strips, was to die for.  He also made a mouth-watering chocolate pound cake, firm and moist.  It needed no frosting to jazz it up, either!

Dad loved to garden, and well into his seventies, he shared his bounty with "the elderly" and shut-ins.  He definitely had a green thumb, with fruits and vegetables thriving under his hand, trying to outgrow each other:  cabbage, squash, green beans, green peppers, onions, potatoes, watermelons, okra, blackberries, grapes, tomatoes, hot peppers, pears, peaches, apples.

I will share some of his recipes in my upcoming book, DACHSHUNDS FOREVER:  DUKE AND ME.  The problem will be choosing which ones to include!  There's his country-style steak with gravy, lobster newburg, chicken and dumplings, fried chicken, cinnamon rolls, hot biscuits, yeast rolls, homemade salsa requiring a fire extinguisher after eating . . . maybe I should simply write a cookbook and entitle it PAPA DUKE'S RECIPES.

6 or 7 years
He grew up in hard times during the Great Depression, on his own from age twelve.  At age ten or eleven, he rescued his baby sister, Sarah, from a house fire.  She was four years old at the time, and he suffered burns on his hands and arms.  Sarah died several days later, a fact he seldom spoke about in later years.  His family lived in poverty with his mother raising her children haphazardly; he never knew his father.

In spite of it all, as an adult he brought joy and laughter to those around him.  Our daughters inherited their musical abilities from him, as he played the guitar by ear.  Our youngest, Bethany, has one of his electric guitars and also taught herself to play it.  I suppose some of his humor came from the pain he felt as a child; after all, tragedy + time = comedy, which is often the case.  He loved his two granddaughters, but passed away two months before Holly, the oldest, was married.  He would dearly love his three great grandchildren as well. 

Children and animals were drawn to him, and I've heard that dogs are great judges of character!  If that is the case, then he truly was a wonderful human being.  "Papa Duke" never met the doxie in my books, since he came along well after Dad passed away, but we had dachshunds when I was growing up, and it was always a mutual admiration society with Dad and our "dawgs."  Dad is lovingly describedin his books, because I KNOW this doxie would have loved him that much.

Dad had little formal education, completing his high school courses after joining the U.S. Army as a young man.  He always said that Army life was good to him, and he had many friends of all ranks.  He met his old friend, "Pappy" Sellars, who was from Georgia, on a tour of duty in Alaska.  I was 13 at the time, and my brother Steve and I loved Pappy and his wife Renate (spelled Renata in Shadow's books) like they were family.  Dad loved to cook, Sellars loved to eat, so there was an automatic attachment!  Sellars passed away a couple of years ago, also in his 80s. 

All in all, Dad managed to overcome the earlier pain of his childhood, making a home for our family, and until poor health in his last few years prevented it, he stayed very active in church and community.  I miss his robust laugh, his flair for storytelling, and his huge hands at work, either chopping vegetables at lightning speed or rolling out pastry dough with finesse. 

Happy Father's Day, Dad.

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