James Roy Duke Jr.

May 4, 1935 - February 11, 2022

Dr. J. Roy Duke, MD, an esteemed pulmonologist and pillar of the Palm Beach County medical community for over 40 years, passed away peacefully on Friday, February 11, 2022 in Jupiter, Florida. He is survived by his daughter, Denise Suzanne Duke of Decatur, Georgia and son, Christopher Scott Duke, daughter-in-law, Jennifer Bautista Duke, grandson, James Roger Duke, and granddaughter, GraceAnn Teresa Duke of Palm Beach Gardens, Florida, along with many loving friends, patients, co-workers and numerous others who were fortunate to have known him.

Roy was born in Ocala, Florida on May 4, 1935 to James and Elizabeth Duke. He grew up in Ocala and attended Ocala High School. Roy received his medical degree from Tulane University Medical School in 1960 and enlisted in the US Air Force in 1962, where he served as a physician at Brookley Air Force Base in Mobile, Alabama. He married his childhood friend and love of his life, the late Barbara "Bobbye" Craig Duke, in June 1958. They began their life together in New Orleans where Roy deepened his love for Jazz music and Bobbye nurtured her love for cuisine. After completing residences in Internal Medicine and Pulmonology at Tulane University in 1967, he moved to North Palm Beach where he began his practice with the Palm Beach Medical Group. He practiced at St. Mary's Hospital and Good Samaritan Hospital where he served as Medical Director for several years. Upon leaving private practice, he became the Associate Director of Pulmonary Medicine at the Veterans Affairs Medical Center in Riviera Beach until his retirement from medicine in 2011.

Roy helped develop the inaugural Emergency Medical Technician program in Palm Beach County and created its first EMT certification training program. As part of the Snowdrift Pulmonary Conference, he authored numerous publications on the treatment of pulmonary diseases. An avid fly fisherman, underwater photographer and scuba diver, he had the honor of treating patients and saving lives as the Medical Director of Palm Beach County's first hyperbaric chamber. His enthusiasm for the Miami Dolphins (especially the undefeated 1972 season) was legendary.

Aside from being an expert in the field of pulmonology, Roy was an incredibly dedicated, caring and warm-hearted physician. He was a doctor's doctor and a true patient advocate who did everything in his power to ensure his patients received the very best care possible. Roy will forever live on in the hearts of all those he touched, both professionally and personally, and we will miss him greatly.

A memorial service for Roy and his beloved wife Bobbye will be held March 5, 2022 at 2:00 pm at First Presbyterian Church in North Palm Beach.

In lieu of flowers, the family requests donations made in his honor to the Alzheimer's Association, act.alz.org/donate and the JDF.