CLINTON, Ill. — Jackie Alexander Dukes, just shy of 85, of Clinton, passed into eternal life on July 29, 2026, from Carle BroMenn Medical Center, Normal, Illinois.
Jackie was born August 25, 1941, in Rosine, Kentucky, to the late William Leslie Dukes and the late Reba (Rafferty) Monroe. He married the love of his life, Nora Ruth Schmidt, June 24, 1966, in Manteno, Illinois, with his brother-in-law, Reverend Jack Cavitt, officiating.
Jackie served in the 24th Infantry Division of the United States Army, stationed at Division Headquarters in Augsburg, Bavaria, West Germany during the Cyprus Crisis of 1963-64. He remained a member of the USAR until December 1969.
He worked many jobs, including at a sheet metal works, the railroad, and passed up an opportunity to join a friend’s business in New Rochelle, NY, preferring along with his wife to keep their family in Central Illinois. He was a pressman at Wallace Business Forms in Clinton, IL from 1966 until he retired in the mid-1990s. Later, he enjoyed driving and making deliveries for the Bill Doran Florist Company.
He had numerous interesting experiences during his lifetime, whether it was skydiving for the grand opening of K-Mart in Bloomington, IL, playing pool with Merle Haggard at a local music hall & bar, or spending time with his nephew Bill in the NASCAR pits. While he certainly cherished these types of experiences, his favorite moments in life were spent with family and friends. As his wife was a devoted mother, Jackie was a devoted father, always active in his son’s life. Whether helping coach a little league baseball team or grade school basketball team, playing catch in the backyard, fishing, archery or target shooting, taking out the canoe, family trips to Kentucky and places like Disney World or Opryland, helping with homework or a shop class project, helping teach the importance of nightly prayers, or being there each time his son was in the hospital, Jackie was everything a father should be.
Jackie was a member of the VFW, AMVETS, and the Fraternal Order of Eagles. As a New York Yankees fan, he enjoyed the yearly ritual of going to Chicago with family and friends for the Yankees vs. White Sox rivalry. He enjoyed hunting, fishing, and camping, the occasional fish and turtle fry, and spending time at the family farm in Kentucky. He was known to put many a meal on the table by winning a turkey shoot, through efforts hunting and fishing, or simply going to the grocery store or through a fast-food drive-thru. As the saying goes, he will certainly be missed but certainly not forgotten.
Aside from his parents, he was preceded in death by two brothers, Darrell Dukes and Lorice Dukes, and two sisters, Marcene Dukes and Merlene Austin.
Survivors include his wife of 60 years, Ruth Dukes, Clinton; son, Jon Dukes, of Clinton; brother, Lowell Dukes, Central City, Kentucky; sister, Geraldean (Robert) Ingram, of Beaver Dam, Kentucky; sister-in-law, Doris Dukes, of Bloomington, Illinois; sister-in-law, Betty Fryman, of Normal; sister-in-law and brother-in-law, Jack and Pat Cavitt; and many cherished nieces and nephews.
A family service will be held in Kentucky pending finalization of arrangements.