A requiem for Duke, a tree for Frances
October 22, 2023, 4:26 pm , by Richard Lutz
This has been a week that won’t be easily forgotten, says Richard Lutz
A sober email from thousands of miles away. Duke has died after hospice care in his home. Specialists couldn’t do anything more for him except respite.
Our friendship arches back half a century and we shared a couple of adventures before he went one way and I went another. We kept up during the decades, our kids grew to adulthood, homes changed, careers blossomed and ended. Duke told good stories. Here’s one:
He was a car mechanic and in his mid twenties. He was talking to his physician and, maybe, I don’t remember, maybe he said he was feeling he could do something else. The doctor asked what he would like to do. Duke said ‘Your job.’
The medic said something along the lines of: ‘Well, you’re a mechanic. You check under the hood, diagnose a problem and figure out how to fix it. Sounds like you have the right approach to do what I do. Same thing, really.’
He told Duke to think about returning to college, working hard, and getting into medical school.
Duke did that. He graduated and paid back his federal loan with a series of public service appointments up and down the States and then had a lively and value laden career. He ended up as medical director of a non profit health insurance company. Whatever position he held, he was known as Dr Duke. It was even on his personalised license plate. Dr Duke, it said.
He had a way with things. He went his own way, whether on his own, with his wife Betty or with a growing family. He’d been a chef, a mason, a traveller, a printer, an activist, and, of course, a mechanic, before finding his path. I won’t see him again to tell him what a kind friend he has been over the decades.
Earlier in the week, I head for a remote estate tucked into the rills of Scotland’s Galloway Hills. We turn down into a steep gravelly trail with the car bumping and scraping. Then we creep along a steeper decline until we hit a ramshackle bridge, too rickety to take cars.
There the River Doon tumbles, quick flowing, black and clean. Horses and cattle stare. We walk across that brokeback bridge and open a farm gate. The horses gain interest and meander towards us.
We are a small group, huddling against a late autumn wind with a bite. There is a fence boxing off a patch of deep green soft earth. And here we plant an oak for Frances.
She died three years ago and, initially, her family offered a sapling near the river. But cattle got to it. This second memorial oak will now be safely penned off and carefully encased in a protective tube. Mark, who owns the land that borders the Ness Glen carved by the river, tells us the oak has a long future. He reminds us that in 250 years, this oak tree will be here and healthy. And none of us will. We all agree. It’ll outlive us. As will Frances’s lasting tribute.
The gathering horses lower their huge heads over the new fence to see if they can reach the grass inside the area. Howard places a plaque inside the safe patch of earth. It Includes a photograph of Frances. She died in 2020. The picture shows a woman, happy and tinged with sunshine. We were in Majorca at the time, says Howard. He says soft words for Frances whose tree is now cosseted in earth. It’ll outlive us.
Duke and Frances, rest in peace.
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Jeff Underwood
Lovely
Kretzmer
Beautiful
Anon
His transition to becoming a Doctor is a powerful reminder of what we can be capable of when we put our minds and spirit behind a greater goal.
TonyF
I knew neither of them but welled up….maybe too ‘cos I’ve just lost a dear, dear friend of late….
Peter Dutko
I remember hearing stories about Duke’s younger days as a mechanic and as a printer in NYC during the 70’s, as you mentioned here. His story about “borrowing” a printing press from the Black Panthers, and then having them “borrow it back” comes to mind…
Jan Oyebode
Sorry about Duke
David
Sounds like Duke was quite a dude, a good friend and a good man.
Julie
I remember so many wonderful things about Duke, though I always thought of him as a member of “Duke and Betty”. They entered my life one summer day in Maine when they drove to Taylor Pond and emerged from their VW bug with two large dogs, Packi (a sheep dog) and Dante (a German Shepherd). They all frolicked in and on the water and that began a friendship of over 50 years. How fortunate I was to have known the kind, intelligent Dr. Duke.
Paula McGuire
The Galloway Hills and the past….
Laurel F
Thanks for this
Lee Brothers
👌🏼🙏
Fredi Bruist
So sorry to hear about Duke- he was an exceptional character and a good friend.
‘We used to say
That come the day
We’d all be making songs….’
(Meet on the Ledge)
SW
Duke – an old friend from Maine – thanks
Will Travel
Fine valedictory tributes, portraying two very different subjects – a person and a scene – sympathetically, and without sentimentality.
Bill O'Moseley
I’ve said farewell to a couple of close friends this year, and the memories don’t fade. One point about your mechanic / doctor comparison…. the doctor does the repairs while the engine is still running.
Tully Bass
For Duke- nice piece
dina dufresne
Dear Richard
Duke’s sister here. Thank you for your kind and loving words. We are heartbroken over the loss of this great unique man but uplifted to hear stories such as yours. He certainly knew how to make the most of his time in our presence. ❤️
A friend
A fitting tribute to Frances
Sandy
I try to type with tears in my eyes. A lovely, gentle piece in tribute to Frances an old friend of our Tree Group. This, and the tribute to Duke, made all the more poignant for me by the loss two short months ago of Gregory, our eldest son. To all who have lost…
Kai Munro
I’ll need to look out and see if I can spot Frances’ oak next time I’m in the area.
Simon Griffiths
Nice tribute
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