James Earl Dupree

James Earl Dupree, known as ‘Heavy, 69, passed away on Thursday, January 30th, 2025. Celebration of Life Service will be held Saturday, February 8, 2025, at 10 a.m. at Broadway Church of Christ. Interment will follow at the City of Lubbock Cemetery under the direction of Griffin Mortuary. Visitation will be held Friday, February 7th, 2025, from 4 p.m. to 6 p.m. at Griffin Mortuary. James Earl Dupre, was born at home in rural Wolfforth, TX on March 4th, 1955, to L.B. and Martha Eddington Dupree. There were 10 kids in total with Heavy somewhere in the middle. In the early days Heavy grew up in the country, moving from place to place as his father found work on farms. Around 1962 the family moved to Lubbock to stay. Around age 7 Heavy had a life changing accident in which he was ran over by a truck, went into a coma yet still survived. Despite struggling, Heavy went to school at Iles Elementary, Alderson Middle School, job core in Arkansas and Estacado High School through the 10th grade. In his younger years, Heavy was nearly inseparable from his cousin, Leo. They both were infamous troublemakers and even wrote their names in concrete in downtown Lubbock. 

Heavy enjoyed playing P.E. and football at school. While home life was difficult after his father left, Heavy dropped out of school to help provide for his family. Heavy remembers picking cotton with his family around age 11 and his first official job at Minute Man Car Wash at age 13. Heavy continued to struggle in the streets into his adulthood and lived in Lubbock, Dallas, Texarkana, Lorenzo and Arkansas. One of the most beautiful places he went was Indiana to stay with his brother for a time.

One of Heavy’s sweetest times in his life was re-establishing relationships with his children. He enjoyed every time he got to visit with them and met many of his grandchildren. Around 2006, Heavy met Fannie Lee Stewart and they were together until her death in 2021. 

While Heavy had many jobs over the years at Rainbow Bakery, school districts, Texas Tech Health Sciences Center and others, his favorite job was working at Carpenter’s church, later called Open Door. Heavy was first introduced to Carpenter’s church in 1997 when they were meeting at the soup kitchen. Soon after, Heavy had a turning moment in his life when he brought back stolen school supplies that the church had given out to the kids. He met Jim Beck and Brent McKay, who became lifelong friends. Heavy was invited to participate in the Lord’s Supper and over the years would share the story of being invited to the ‘right’ table instead of the old tables he had been used to at the bars and the clubs. While Heavy was not a perfect person and continued to struggle even into his final years, the changes in his life became evident to those who had known him over the years. 

Heavy enjoyed being at Carpenter’s with his cousin Leo who had also begun to change his life around. Some of Heavy’s favorite memories were having dinner at the church, Bible study, hosting events for the neighborhood, going to sports games, visiting other cities and having coffee together. Heavy did not know a stranger and was happy to visit with anyone who came through the doors. In later years, Heavy was able to officially work part time and helped keep the building going throughout the year. Often the first to get there, he would get coffee going and be ready for morning prayer. He would share his story of what God had done in his life with anyone who would listen, while being non-judgmental and offering an encouraging word. 

In the last years of his life Heavy battled several health challenges, including cancer which he fought for several years. In his last weeks, Heavy’s mindset shifted to one of acceptance and he said he was ready to meet God. His body had grown tired. On Thursday night several friends and family members surrounded his room, including Leo by his side as they had been roommates in these last months. While listening to the song, Precious Lord, Take My Hand, he transitioned into peace at 6:25pm. Special thanks to his Silver Star and Lakeridge Nursing Home teams who loved on Heavy through this time and were impacted by his gentle kindness along the way.

Heavy is survived by his three children: James East, Muriel East and Shannon East; sisters Laura Hunter and Glenda Dupree; brother Bobby Ray Dupree and a host of other family and friends who will never forget his influence. One thing Heavy wanted to remind everyone of during this time is to notice people when they come in the door and remember that it’s always “muddy water time!”