Ralph L Duke

U.S. Army Military Veteran and Church Activist

Lt. Col. Ralph Leonard Duke, retired, 86, husband of Rosetta Lowry Duke, died of lung complications on 6 February 2014 in Louisville, KY.

Born at Fort Riley, Kansas, Lt. Col. Duke served in the U.S Army when he enlisted at the age of 19 until his retirement in 1967. Lt. Col. Duke service included two oversees posts in Germany after World War II, a two year post in Japan as well as serving in Korea after the Korean War.

Lt. Col. Duke married Rosetta Lowry Duke in May 2006 in Louisville, KY. Previously, Lt. Col. Duke was married to Mary Joe Duke in January 1949, until she passed away in March 1999.

Lt. Col. Duke was avid in many church activities, including being a member of the Rosary Group at St. Bernadette’s Catholic Church in Springfield, Virginia.

Survivors include his wife, three daughters-- Elizabeth A. Kirk of Spring, Texas; Mary J. Kelley of Sterling Park, Virginia; Donna McCloud of Springfield, Virginia and two sons—Ralph L. Duke, Jr. of Alexandria, Virginia and James T. Duke of Sterling, Virginia, as well as 14 grandchildren and 35 great-grandchildren.

Lt. Col. Duke’s only brother James T. Duke, Jr. died in a military plane accident in 1956 in Texas and his only sister- Dolores Duke Ortiz of Santa Fe, New Mexico, recently passed away in December 2013 at the age of 88.

The family will receive friends at Demaine Funeral Home, 5308 Backlick Road, Springfield, VA 22151 on Friday, February 21 from 4 pm to 8 pm. Mass of Christian Burial will be offered on Saturday, February 22 at St. Bernadette’s Catholic Church, 7600 Old Keene Mill Road, Springfield, VA at 10 am. Interment at Arlington National Cemetery later in the Spring of 2014.

Donations may be made to Echo, 7205 Old Keene Mill Road, Springfield, VA, 22150, http//echo-inc.org.