Mattie Rea "Patsy" DuPree

Born Mattie Rea Pitts on April 16, 1938, to Walter David Pitts and Mattie Rea (Fondren) Pitts in Selma, Alabama, Pat grew up a tomboy, hunting and riding horses (and goats and a bull; ask Jimmy about that story) at the farm of her Fondren grandparents in Heiberger, Alabama. She thrived on country life, hanging around the campfire with 'coon hunters and listening to the Grand Ole Opry on Nashville's WSM radio station. Her early ambition was to become a dance teacher, so she studied ballet and became a talented toe-dancing ballerina.

But after enduring a life-threatening illness in high school, she decided to enroll in the medical technology program at Alabama Polytechnic Institute -- later Auburn University -- ultimately earning a bachelor’s and two master’s degrees there.Auburn was where she met the love of her life, Dr. James E. “Jimmy” DuPree, whom she married on Aug. 30, 1959.

She began her career as a public health technician and leukemia researcher before welcoming two sons, David Edward in 1960 and Mark Kyle in 1966. As the family followed Jimmy’s career to Texas — where he worked in the Apollo program and she got to have a nice chat with astronaut Buzz Aldrin — and then on to the aerospace industry in Southern California, she transitioned to teaching. Over the course of 27 years, she taught life sciences, environmental science, medical terminology, and anatomy and physiology at El Camino Community College, Harbor College, and California State University – Dominguez Hills. Her students wrote glowing reviews about her skills as an instructor.

Among her many passions over the years were scuba diving, photography, being an avid Scout mom, hiking, travel, cruising, mountaineering, computer programming, and aviation. She and Jimmy flew their Cessna 182 around the United States for several years. After they retired to Pine Lake in Georgia, she devoted herself to supervising the construction of their Mt. Vernon replica home on Cedar Point.

But Pat never truly "retired." Instead, her daughter-in-law Janet Rae-Dupree invited her to co-author the Wiley Publishing book “Anatomy and Physiology Workbook for Dummies.” The book, now in its third edition, has been translated into three languages.

To celebrate their 50th anniversary (and Dave and Janet's 25th), the family boarded the Emerald Princess to explore Alaska's Inside Passage. That was when Pat and Jim were bitten by the cruising bug. Ultimately, cruises took them to Costa Rica, the Panama Canal, Colombia, Jamaica, Ecuador, the Galapagos, Denmark, Sweden, Estonia, Russia, Finland, Sweden, and Germany. Most recently, their adventures focused closer to home, including Georgia's Golden Isles and the coasts of South Carolina and Florida.

Even after a series of strokes slowed her down, Pat kept her mind busy. As both physical and mental therapy, she constructed large jigsaw puzzles; her favorites were those depicting human anatomy.

Pat is survived by her loving husband of 65 years, Jimmy; sons, Dave (Janet) and Mark; grandson, Matthew Dupree; sister, Donna Chamblee (Ron); nephews, Keith Reason (Glorisa) and Chris Reason (Janet); cousins, Brandee Colburn (Kerry), Toby Jacobi (April), Mary Beth DeGon (Gary), Thomas Dupree (Sandy), and Steven Dupree; and many more beloved relatives and friends.

Contact Striffler Hamby Mortuary in Columbus, Georgia, for service details.