William Lester "Les" DUTY

DUTY, William Lester "Les", ended his final courageous battle on November 6, 2009. A retired attorney and counselor at law and a retired Lt. Colonel, AUS, Les was born November 19, 1926 in Rhodell, West Virginia, the son of Starling Ellis and Dora Smith Duty. The husband of Marianne R.B. Duty, his wife of nearly 51 years (November 28), he was predeceased by three brothers, Marvin L. Duty, Clifford Bernard Duty and Vinton Duty; and three sisters, Ruth Duty, Bertha Duty and Myrtle Adeline Duty Ring. In addition to his wife, he is survived by his daughter, Mary-Leslie Duty-Emmons and son-in-law, Michael Lance Emmons; three brothers, James Russell Duty, Cecil Alvin Duty and Billy Gene Duty; and two sisters, Ruby June Duty Mitchell and Kate Lorraine Duty Cole; as well as many nieces and nephews. Les was a true Renaissance man. A student of the arts, science, religious philosophy, history, nature and politics, he was also a collector of coins and weapons. An avid sportsman, bird hunter and fisherman and world traveler, he grew up in the hinterlands of southwest Virginia. He enlisted in the Army at the age of nineteen, intending to make it his career. He served in Germany at the end of World War II and re-enlisted after returning to the states. He was trained as a paratrooper at Ft. Bragg, N.C., and as a tank commander at Ft. Knox, Ky. In 1952, while on duty in Korea, he was shot in the heart by enemy fire and left for dead, however, he managed to alert a medic and was taken by helicopter to a M.A.S.H. unit. After he recovered, Les was informed that he was no longer fit for combat duty, whereupon he remained in the United States Army Reserve until November 1986. With the knowledge that a career in the Army was denied him, he entered the University of Richmond, where after taking undergraduate classes he was admitted to the T.C. Williams School of Law (where he met his future wife). Deciding to broaden his spectrum of studies, he went to Virginia Commonwealth University (then the Richmond Professional Institute of the College of William and Mary). All the while he was reading law with attorneys Flavius Walker and Raymond Dupuy, qualifying to take the Virginia State Bar examination in 1961, which he passed on his first sitting. He opened his office as a sole practitioner in 1962; 26 years later he was joined by his daughter and the firm of Duty and Duty (now Duty, Duty & Landry) was formed. Among other organizations, Les was a member of the Richmond Area Chapter of the Military Officers Association of America; the 82nd Airborne Metro Association; the National Military Reserve Officers Association of the United States; the Military Order of the Purple Heart; the Virginia Commonwealth University Alumni Association; the Benevolent Protective Order of Elks of the United States and the Ruffed Grouse Society. He was also a member in good standing (retired) of the Virginia State Bar and the Chesterfield County Bar Association. Les will be remembered by all who knew him for his compassionate caring, his loyalty, his honesty and integrity, his gentleness and inquisitiveness, as well as his wit and wry humor, his professionalism and his total dedication to the people and causes in which he believed. He will be sorely missed by all who were fortunate enough to know him. The family will receive friends 1 to 3 p.m. and 5 to 7 p.m., with funeral service to be held at 7 p.m. on Monday, November 9, at the Morrissett Funeral Home, 6500 Iron Bridge Rd. (Rte. 10). Les will be buried with full military honors at Arlington National Cemetery on January 20, 2010 at 11 a.m. In lieu of flowers, the family requests that contributions be made to your favorite charity.


This obituary was originally published in the Richmond Times-Dispatch.