Earl Dukes passed away peacefully in his home in Smyrna, Tennessee. Earl was born in Elkton, Kentucky on August 15, 1935 to Claude and Rene Dukes.
Earl was preceded in death by his wife of 65 years, Donia, in 2020, his own parents Claude and Rene Dukes, his in-laws JB Keenam, Gratia Keenam and Nick Devic, and his nine brothers and sisters – Minnie, Robert, Lula, Francis, Mary, Estelle, Arvin, Claude Jr., and Jimmy.
Earl is survived by his two sons Richard (Marguerite) Dukes, Alan (Mary) Dukes, sister in law Shirley (Irv) Curry, brother in law Donald Keenam, four grandchildren Marissa (Casey) Conrad, Matt Dukes, Meghan (Nathan) Averill and Samantha (Luke) Harvey, his great-grandchildren, cousins, nieces and nephews.
Earl touched the lives of many people with his smile, his laughter, and he will never be forgotten. Throughout his life, he set an example of working as hard as needed to provide well for his family.
In his later years, he often prayed that he would outlive his wife Donia so that he could be with her and provide for whatever care she needed. His prayers were answered.
During his final months on earth he said, “When I’m gone please don’t mourn for me, be happy for me, because I’ll be reunited with my wonderful Donia in Heaven”.
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