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Obituary

Skilled optometrist liked the daily grind

JOSEPH WOODROW DUKET: 1915-2005. A doctor who created his own lenses was also a lay minister, an avid astronomer and an active community member.

By MARTY CLEAR
Published March 4, 2005

PALMA CEIA - For half a century, Dr. J.W. Duket helped people in Tampa see things a little more clearly.

Dr. Duket was an optician and optometrist who had a private practice in South Tampa near MacDill Avenue and Bay to Bay Boulevard. He died Feb. 16 at age 89.

"His practice was unusual," said his son, Joe Duket. "In those days you'd go to an optometrist and he'd farm it out to an optician, who would grind the lenses. But my dad was an optician as well, so he'd take the raw glass and actually grind the lenses himself."

Dr. Duket's practice was a forerunner of the one-stop eyeglass stores that are common today, his son said.

Joseph Woodrow Duket was born in Panama City but came to St. Petersburg when he was young and graduated from St. Petersburg High School.

His name was always a bit of an issue. When he was growing up, his family called him Woodrow. Professionally he used J.W. Duket, and in later years he was known as Joe.

His last name is pronounced doo-KET, but mispronunciations are so common that the family isn't bothered by them.

After high school, Dr. Duket went to Mobile, Ala., to work as an optician's apprentice. In those days, opticians didn't have computerized machinery. They were artisans, and the training was rigorous.

But after he completed his apprenticeship, Dr. Duket moved toward another career.

"He was always a very religious man, and he got a full scholarship to David Lipscomb College in Nashville," his son said. "It's Church of Christ affiliated, and he was studying for the ministry."

While at Lipscomb, he met his future wife, Opal. After graduating, he returned to his scientific studies and moved to Chicago to attend the Northern Illinois College of Optometry.

"That was his day job, so to speak," his son said. "He was also a lay minister. He started a congregation that met on the second floor above a bar. It was the only space they could afford. They had to step over the drunks passed out in the street from the night before."

That fledgling group has since grown into the largest Church of Christ congregation in Chicago, he said.

Because of Dr. Duket's deep belief in pacifism, the government classified him as a conscientious objector during World War II. But he still served his country and the war effort by working with a company called Simpson Optical in Chicago that created the precision optics for the top-secret Norden bombsights.

The work was so important that the Nazis sent a spy, Herbert Hans Haupt, to infiltrate the plant. Dr. Duket was nearby when government agents arrested Haupt, who was later hanged.

Dr. Duket's efforts earned him an Army-Navy award for excellence in wartime production.

After the war, the Dukets came to Tampa to escape the Chicago winters. Dr. Duket still had family in the area, so it seemed like a logical place to start his practice and to raise their two children.

Dr. Duket was an avid amateur astronomer and used his skills as an optician to build telescopes. He started the Tampa Astronomy Club, which met for many years in the back of his South Tampa office.

His family had a history of civic involvement. Dr. Duket's sister Lucille Cochran was the founder and director of the Krewe of Venus, and Dr. Duket was an active member of the local Kiwanis Club.

"He was offered the presidency, but he turned it down," his son said. "He didn't like to travel and he had a little fear of flying. He was afraid if he became president he'd have to go to conferences all over the country."

Dr. Duket is survived by his son, Joe; one daughter, Sylvia Duquet; one grandson; and one great-grandson. His wife, Opal, died a few years ago.

[Last modified March 3, 2005, 09:13:05]