Dukes will mark marriage milestone

BEND, Ore. — Mr. and Mrs. Franklin D. Duke will celebrate their 63rd wedding anniversary May 29.

Mr. and Mrs. Franklin Duke

Mr. and Mrs. Franklin Duke

Duke, who is the son of the lateMartin Ebert and Stellla Violate Tate Duke, and the former Jean Cooksey were married May 29,1955, in Sikeston, Mo. Mrs. Duke graduated from Sikeston High School in 1955 on a Friday night t the Sikeston Armory and then she and Duke married Sunday morning after the morning at the Sikeston General Baptist Church by then pastor Roger Jones. After the service, the couple’s parents and family members sent to Mrs. Duke’s home for some wedding cake and other refreshments. Later in the afternoon, the couple left for Valdosta, Ga., where Moody Air Force Base is located.

After 21 years of serving in many U.S. locations and abroad, Duke retired and lived in The Dalles, where he worked at the Martin Marietta Aluminum plants in The Dalles, Ore., and Goldendale, Wash., for nearly 19 years, retiring in 1992.

The couple lived in The Dalles from 1972-2006 and currently reside in Bend. Duke wrote a book describing his 21 years in the U.S. Air Force called “21 Years in Blue.”