Alonzo (Lonnie) Wilson Duke, Jr. was born on January 27, 1944 to parents A.W. and Cleo Duke in Kilgore, Texas. He was called home to his savior Jesus Christ on December 21, 2023.
He called East Texas home throughout his childhood and graduated from Kilgore High School. Lonnie worked in Kilgore as a life guard and as an assistant at a funeral home. He would eventually move to Houston where he met the love of his life, his wife Fay. The two were married in Louise, Texas in 1971 and enjoyed 52 years of marriage together.
Lonnie’s passions were his family, his church and community, and woodworking. A 40-year member of Park Street Baptist Church in Greenville, he taught Sunday school for many years and regularly volunteered on many different church and civic projects, coached little league baseball, and was a member of the Hunt County Wood Turner’s Club. After retirement, he could be found most days in his workshop building furniture, turning wooden pens on his lathe, or just piddling around.
He graduated from the University of Houston in 1974 with a degree in business administration. Lonnie worked for Tenneco in their corporate headquarters in Houston before moving to Greenville in the early-1980s. His long career was spent in human resource management and recruiting and included stops at Walker Manufacturing, Rubbermaid, Ocean Spray, Wing Doors, Raytheon, and Woodgrain Millworks. Anyone who knew Lonnie knew he always had positive attitude and looked for the best in people and the situation. His response to ”good morning” was always ”It IS a good morning.” He believed in people and gave others a chance to shine.
Lonnie was preceded in death by his parents A.W. Duke and Cleo Duke and his sister Virginia Ann Jafarpour. He is survived by his wife Fay, sons Alonzo (Trey) Duke, III (Kristie) and Walker Duke (Melissa); grandchildren Crystal Hutchinson (James), Seth Duke (Hannah), Obie Duke, Ikki (Dazy) Duke, Josh McKeon, and Matthew McKeon; niece Minnette Betts (Earl); and eight great-grandchildren.
Visitation will be from 5-7 pm on December 26, 2023 at Coker-Mathews Funeral Home at 5100 I-30 East in Greenville, Texas. Funeral services will be held on December 27, 2023, at 10:00 a.m. at Park Street Baptist Church in Greenville with graveside service at Memoryland Memorial Park immediately following. Friends and family are invited to a gathering immediately thereafter at the Park Street Baptist Church activities building.
In lieu of flowers, the family requests donations be made to Park Street Baptist Church or the Alzheimer’s Association (www.alz.org).
