Dr. Burton Paul Dupuy, Jr.

Funeral services for Dr. Burton Paul Dupuy, Jr. will be Saturday, September 17, at 10 am at the Blanchard St. Denis Funeral Home, Rev. John Foster officiating and with a full military burial. Dr. Dupuy, 91 was born September 27, 1919 in Bunkie, Louisiana and passed away peacefully at his home September 14, 2011. Dr. Dupuy graduated from Bunkie High School in 1937 at the age of 17. He attended Southwestern Louisiana Institute at Lafayette, Louisiana until January 1939 when he had to leave due to illness. In August of 1940 he enlisted in the Army Air Corps in Barksdale Field, Louisiana. In July of 1941 he entered Flying Cade Basic School in Jackson, Mississippi graduating as a Second Lt. Twin engine pilot February 6, 1942. He was an instructor in the twin-engine advanced flying school in Columbus, Mississippi. From Columbus, he was assigned to Air Corp Ferry Command in Nashville, Tennessee and then to Memphis, Tennessee in 1942 where he remained until his transfer to the ATC in Naples and Rome, Italy in 1944. While in Naples, he set up and commanded a transition and instrument flying school. He was discharged from the Air Corps after 5 ½ years of service on January 13, 1946. While in Rome, he had the opportunity of attending the first Christmas Mass officiated by the Pope in 1944. After the end of the war, he was a Lieutenant Colonel in the Air Force. He was able to see the world while serving in the Air Force. After the war, Dr. Dupuy worked as a teller and later became a partner in and manager of Burton Frozen Foods in Thibodaux, Louisiana. After selling his interest in the Locker Plant, Dr. Dupuy sold Electrolux Products while completing his pre-optometry courses at Southwestern Louisiana Institute. He met and married his wife of sixty-four years, Yvonne Walther, in 1947. Dr. Dupuy graduated from the Southern College of Optometry in June, 1953 with a B.S. and O.D. degree. He passed the board exam for his optometry license for the State of Tennessee in July, 1953 and for the State of Louisiana in November 1953. He held many offices in the Louisiana Association of Optometrists. He was Secretary-Treasurer of the Louisiana Graduate Seminar Group and was an amateur lecturer and writer in the subject of Optometry. He began his practice of Optometry in Lake Charles, Louisiana and his private practice in Natchitoches, Louisiana in 1954, retiring in 1988. Dr. Dupuy was preceded in death by his parents, Burton Paul Dupuy, Sr. and Mary Helm Dupuy. Those left to cherish his memory are his wife, Yvonne Walther Dupuy, five children, son, Burton Paul Dupuy, III and wife Deborah Grams Dupuy of Dallas, Texas, daughter, Mary Lynn Dupuy Powell and husband, Nathan A. “Buddy” Powell, Jr. of Tyler, Texas, daughter, Lillian Alice Dupuy Armour and husband, Bobby Dale Armour, Jr. of Natchitoches, Louisiana, daughter Yvonne Patrice Dupuy Bradley and husband, Walther A. “Trey” Bradley of Flower Mound, Texas, and son Marc Walther Dupuy and wife, Jonna Payton Dupuy of Richardson, TX. James Alfred Dupuy and wife Katherine, of Rome, GA is Dr. Dupuy’s only surviving brother. Grandchildren include Burton Paul Dupuy, IV and wife Crystal, Tara Jennifer Dupuy Hardin and husband Jason Hardin of Shreveport, LA, Laura Danielle Armour Lewing and husband, Jessie Con Lewing of Many, LA, Nathan A. Powell, III of Tyler, TX, Richard Tucker Powell of Dallas, TX, Daniel Bradley of Los Angeles, CA, Britton Bradley and Kristen Bradley of Flower Mound, TX, Sara, Alyssa and David Dupuy of Richardson, TX. Great-grandchildren include Emma Sorrells, Alexander Sorrells, Ashton Hardin, and Luke Hardin of Shreveport, Louisiana, Abigal and Gus Dupuy and Chloe Dupuy of Shreveport, and one great-great-grandchild, Jamie Sorrells of Shreveport, LA. Pallbearers will be Nathan Powell, III, Richard Tucker Powell, Daniel Bradley, Britton Bradley, Paul Dupuy, and Jason Hardin. Visitation will be from 5 p.m. to 7 p.m. at Blanchard St. Denis Funeral home on Friday, September 16, 2011.