Bonnie P Duke

Bonnie Peck Duke, 88 years of age of Jackson, passed away at Hospice Ministries in Ridgeland on May 18, 2016. She was preceded in death by her parents, Paul Alexander Peck and Gladys Mae Moore, and her husband of 42 years, Jack Duke.

Bonnie was born March 4, 1928 in Dallas, Texas. She loved and remained very close throughout her life to her only sister, Nancy Lee of Spring Hill, Florida. As an early teen growing up in New Orleans, she fondly told the story of the unknown young singer who performed at her high school dance, Frank Sinatra. Her family moved to Mobile where Bonnie graduated from Murphy High School and began a job in banking. It was during this time that she met the love of her life, Jack Duke, also from Mobile. She quickly fell in love with his large Duke family and talked frequently of their many fun family times in Mobile on the Dog River. Jack and Bonnie were married in 1947 and moved to Orange, Texas. This is where they had their first son, Dr. Gregory P Duke Sr. (Debbie), of Jackson. They later moved to Lake Charles, Louisiana, where they had their second son, David Duke (Pam), of Memphis. The family again decided to relocate, this time to Memphis where Bonnie devoted her time to raising her two sons. When they finally decided to move their family to Jackson in 1964, the boys were in high school. With time on her hands, Bonnie returned to banking. She began working only part time in 1965 and retired in 1989 as the Branch Manager for the Maywood Mart Deposit Guaranty Bank. She held the honor of being the bank’s first woman branch manager. After retiring from Deposit Guaranty, Bonnie worked as a secretary for Christ United Methodist Church where she was a member. She loved her church duties and singing in the church choir. She and Jack also enjoyed living on the Reservoir and entertaining family and friends with cookouts and boating. They especially enjoyed having their four young grandchildren at that time around them, Greg Duke, Jr of Seattle, Ashley Duke Butsch (Jonathan) of Gulf Port, Hunter Duke (Alyson) of Atlanta, and Rachel Duke of Memphis.

After the death of husband Jack in 1989, Bonnie became an avid lover of ballroom dancing. She enjoyed her years of performing and competing in many dance competitions around the U.S. and receiving many awards. She also loved traveling the world and spent much of her retirement life with friends doing this.

Bonnie moved to The Orchard in 2010 and that is where she lived until shortly before her death. Bonnie also leaves behind her great granddaughters Ava, Carrie and Lila Duke (Seattle), Evyn and Ellis Duke (Atlanta). Grandson, Josh Carter (Memphis), and nephews William Lee and James Lee, both of Rhode Island.

A funeral service will be held on Friday, May 20, 2016 at Lakewood Memorial Funeral Home. Visitation will begin at 11:00 am with a service at 12:00.

In lieu of flowers, memorials in honor of Bonnie Duke may be made to Christ United Methodist Church, 6000 Old Canton Road, Jackson, MS, 39211.

Please visit lakewoodfuneralhomes.com for online guestbook.