Robert Hickman DuPree

TUSCALOOSA | Robert Hickman DuPree, age 77, of Tuscaloosa, died suddenly on July 13, 2015. A memorial service will be held at 2 p.m. Saturday, August 22, 2015 at University Presbyterian Church in Tuscaloosa with a reception to follow. Tuscaloosa Memorial Chapel will be assisting the family with arrangements.
He was preceded in death by his parents; sister, Peggy DuPree Lane, of Camden; and by a daughter, Margaret Nell DuPree.
Survivors include his wife of fifty years, Nancy Barker DuPree, of Tuscaloosa; daughter, Mary Helen DuPree of Washington, DC; brother-in-law, Robert F. Lane, Jr., of Camden; niece, Louise Lane, of Portland, Ore.; nephew, Frank Lane, of Brentwood, Tenn.; and by a host of relatives, in-laws, friends, and fellow singers.
Robert was born in Macon County, N.C., on May 5, 1938, the son of Robert Bee-Hill and Mary Hickman DuPree. He grew up in Highlands, N.C., and Tamassee, S.C. He graduated from Erskine College in Due West, S.C., and received his Master of Education from Clemson University and his Ph. D. in English from Auburn. He made his life's work as a teacher of English, beginning in 1960 at Walhalla High School in Walhalla, SC; and at Auburn University; at Berry College in Rome, Ga.; as an adjunct instructor at the University of Alabama; and for 28 years at Stillman College, from which he retired in 2006.
He was active in the local music community as a member of the old Civic Chorus of Tuscaloosa, a long-time member of the Prentice Chorale, and as a member of barbershop choruses in Tuscaloosa and Birmingham. He participated in the international Barbershop Festival in Saint Petersburg, Russia, in 2004 and was currently a member of the Tuscaloosa Crimson Pride Chorus. He was also active in the shape note musical community, participating in Sacred Harp and Christian Harmony singings in Alabama, Mississippi, and Georgia. He was a member of the choir at University Presbyterian Church for 37 years, where he also served as an elder and a deacon.
In lieu of flowers, donations can be made to The University Presbyterian Church music endowment, to Stillman College, or to the World Wildlife Fund.