Bob Duprez

 Bob Duprez was born in Queens, NY on October 13, 1944.  He grew up on Long Island and graduated from Hofstra University in 1966 majoring in French.  

Over the next three years Bob served as a Lieutenant in the U.S. Army assigned in Vietnam as a French interpreter for our side in meetings with officers from the South Vietnamese military.  Later, he was a teacher of foreign languages and a department head at a private school in Wilmington, Delaware for more than thirty years.

I met Bob in Brazil many years ago at an English language school where we were one of the few Americans signed up to teach Brazilian adults.  Actually, we knew each other before we met as I had written some articles about Brazil for a website and Bob had corresponded with me regarding them.

I remember working with Bob during English language immersion classes.  We also roomed together on road trips for the school.

Bob and I discovered we had something in common.  We were both avid sports fans, especially baseball.  He loved his "fighting" Phillies and I of course loved the Giants.  

Later, when I was in New York, Bob invited me to his home in Delaware.  He came to visit me a couple of times when I was in Chapel Hill, NC.  

I remember one Sunday in Sao Paulo when the two of us went to a bar for drinks.  I had three beers and Bob had three caipirinhas, a strong cocktail.  It was his first experience with the drink and he got very intoxicated.  Bob asked me to walk him to the nearby taxi stand as he was not sure he would be able make it by himself.

Bob and I watched the 2007 Super Bowl together at his apartment in Moema, a district in Sao Paulo.

I remember one time Bob and I got together on the Penn campus in Philadelphia and went looking for somewhere to have lunch.  We entered an all salad place and he complained, "I want a hamburger."

Coincidentally, Bob and I both got married (each for the second time) on July 13, 2013, and both to Brazilian women.  He had met Maria de Deus on a beach while they were both assisting blind people.  

They married in Florida and settled in Lake Placid, a small town south of Orlando.  Cristina and I visited their home once while we were in the area visiting my son Bret.

The last time I saw Bob was a few years ago when we and our wives had lunch at the Olive Garden restaurant at the Millenia Shopping Center in Orlando.  After lunch, Bob and I split away from the women and walked through the mall, talking a lot.  

I always emailed Bob on his birthday and he always responded thanking me for remembering.  This year he didn't and I was concerned.  Late that night I googled Bob and discovered his obituary.  He had died "peacefully at his home" this past June 13th.  I'll never forget Bob.