Rev. Jerome Dupree
Rev. Dupree slowly walked to the podium at Selby Gardens to memorialize a friend during a memorial service.
He eloquently recited When the Earth’s Last Picture is Painted by Rudyard Kipling from memory. His presence and presentation was a healing balm just as it has been for countless Newtown audiences at churches, schools and civic gatherings. The admired speaker has a repertoire of six more inspirational poems by famous authors: The Creation by James Weldon Johnson, The Psalm of Life by Henry Wordsworth Longfellow; Invictus by William Earnest Henley; If by Kipling; The House by the Side of the Road by Sam Walton Foss; and Psalm 27. A 4th grade teacher, Marthenia Riley recited poetry and encouraged Dupree to appreciate the spoken word. Dupree listened. Other high school teachers Esther Dailey and Janie Poe were strong influences. “[Poe] said if you’re behind, you have to run twice as fast as the other person in order to catch up. And once you catch up, you have to run as fast to get ahead.”
Dupree began a teaching career at age 21. After 10 years, he left the profession and held several positions including neighborhood director of Metropolitan Insurance. A return to the school system occurred at age 34. He was fast tracked to school principal and was elected to the Sarasota City Commission in 1995 serving as mayor from 1998 – 1999. The advice and wisdom of Koinonia Baptist Church’s pastor, former Booker High School principal and a veteran educator is sought by civic and non-profit organizations. He is known as “Newtown’s prince, an awesome man of God with unwavering love and a precious human being.” Courtesy: New College of Florida Oral History Program Interviewer: Jessica Wopinski
