Mr. Roy Dukes was a well-respected educator in Marshall County and across the state of Tennessee. From sports to academics, he was instrumental in promoting the education of students and teachers everywhere his career took him.
His early education began in Lynnville, Tennessee and the Marshall County School System. In 1961, a young Roy Dukes graduated from Jones High School with several football scholarships. After much consideration and thought, he headed to Morris College, a Baptist and Historically Black College and University in Sumter, South Carolina. He received a Bachelor’s Degree in Biology and Chemistry. Mr. Dukes received the Presidential Award of Excellence from his alma mater and was admitted into the Morris College Hall of Fame. He furthered his education and received his Master’s in Administration and Supervision from Middle Tennessee State University.
Roy Dukes served as a classroom teacher, coach, assistant principal, principal, supervisor, Assistant Director, and Director of Schools for Marshall County. He taught at Jones School, Connelly Junior High, and Marshall County High.
Other endeavors included serving as a football and basketball official for TSSAA and for the Ohio Valley Conference (OVC). Mr. Dukes has been very active in the education of not only the students of this area but of students in other regions. He served on several Southern Association Evaluation Teams. He was on a number of committees concerning education with the Tennessee Education Association (TEA) and the South Central Regional Health Committee. He was past president of the Marshall County Education Association (MCEA).
Mr. Dukes had a whole host of accolades which includes the following: past-president of the Lewisburg Housing Authority, past-president of the Rotary Club of Lewisburg, and member of the South Central Regional Health Board. He was also a member of the Beta Epsilon Sigma Chapter of Phi Beta Sigma Fraternity, Incorporated of Huntsville, Alabama. He received the Paul Harris Fellow of the Rotary Club International Award, the 2004 NAACP George Turner Award of Excellence, and was a 2005 (TSSAA) Tennessee Secondary School Athletic Association Hall of Fame Inductee as a school administrator.
He was a devout and humble Christian who truly walked the walk and lived his life serving others. He was a dedicated member of Greater First Baptist Church in Lewisburg, TN, where he served as a deacon, Sunday school teacher, member of the male chorus, men’s ministry and the church fmancial committee.
He believed the statement made by Booker T. Washington… Success is to be measured not so much by the position that one has reached in life, as by the obstacles which he has overcome while trying to succeed. Mr. Dukes truly overcame several obstacles during this lifetime and set an example for what rising above them and moving forward should look like to us all.
His favorite quote was by Dr. Martin Luther King Jr., “Everybody can be great because anybody can serve. You don’t have to have a college degree to serve. You don’t have to make your subject and verb agree to serve. You only need a heart full of grace. A soul generated by love. Our nation is a rainbow—red, yellow, brown, black, and white—and we’re all precious in God’s sight.” And as an honor to the legacy that he set, we encourage everyone to abide by the words above and by the example that this servant leader, Roy Dukes, set.
We are forever grateful for the impact of Mr. Roy Dukes had on his family, our community, and the body of Christ. May he forever rest in peace.
