Palestine High School Alumni Association

Dick was born January 28, 1929 in Waco, Texas and embraced by his Lord and Savior on December 16, 2015 at home with his family in Tulsa, Oklahoma. An accountant by trade, but always a musician at heart, his lifesong and legacy will be forever played in our hearts.

His family spent Dick’s school years in San Antonio and then in Palestine, Texas, where he graduated high school and met the love of his life. From a young age, he played clarinet and tapped danced – although playing saxophone to Big Band arrangements along with dancing the jitterbug turned out to be his lifelong favorites. In high school, his best friends formed a [humble] group called the Tri Sigs (aka the “Seven Sexy Seniors”). They remained close friends for life. Decades later, his closest musician friends, Dr. Bill LoVellette and Dr. Tim Moore, would together become the “Three SAXy Seniors”.

Following high school, Dick honorably served our country in the Marine Corps and then graduated from Southern Methodist University. After college, Dick married Jeanette Campbell DuPuy with whom he shared a life and family for 58 years. His thirty-four-year career in oil and gas accounting with Standard Oil of Indiana/Amoco took the family to snowy Casper, Wyoming, six adventurous years in the Middle East (Tehran, Iran and Aden, South Arabia), and the last forty-eight years in Tulsa.

Following retirement, Dick played in a couples’ monthly bridge club (42 years) and served as a volunteer for the American Red Cross, delivering blood supplies across the city. He faithfully attended Tulsa Bible Church, Bible Study Fellowship, and Sunday School. In addition to his full devotion to his wife, children & their families, his desire to serve the Lord through music was his ardent passion. He played with the Tulsa Praise Orchestra (Christian praise music in a Big Band style) and the Tulsa Community College Band until he was 80 years old. Following myriad health challenges, he continued to play in the Tulsa Bible Church orchestra until three years ago. His family lovingly told him he was excellent at “tooting his own horn”. In actuality, he was a man of great integrity, sacrificial love and commitment, a loyal friend, and a devoted husband and father. To his children, he imparted a measurable understanding of the immeasurable love that our Heavenly Father has for each of us, a legacy that will link our family together through eternity.