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On Friday, June 7, 2024, Darryl Thomas DuBose passed away peacefully at Lower Cape Fear LifeCare in Wilmington, North Carolina after a courageous battle with Acute Myeloid Leukemia. Darryl was born on Oct. 13, 1940 in Sanford, Alabama and lived there until he graduated from Straughn High School and joined the U.S. Navy.

After an exceptionally long and wonderful life, Darryl was the finest example of a gentleman, husband, father, grandfather, great-grandfather and friend. He was so proud and happy with everything he accomplished in his life, especially his career and family.

He was preceded in death by his first wife, Anne Mehler DuBose, and is survived by his loving wife, Peggy Queen DuBose, his daughter, Kelly D. DuBose and stepchildren, Linda Luther (Rob) and Bonnae Vega (Juan). He is also survived by grandchildren, Rachel Vega (Andrew), John Vega, Michael Vega and Emily Powers. He will be greatly missed by his great grandchildren, Aiden, Olivia, Eli and Luke. He was also predeceased by his parents, Myrtle Thomasson DuBose and Fletcher Lee DuBose, and his sister, Lois Olson.

He had a distinguished career in law enforcement. He excelled in Naval Intelligence, and later as an Arlington County Police Officer, and as a Special Agent with the Department of Alcohol Tobacco and Firearms (ATF) before retiring from the Federal Government and entering the private sector as a criminal fraud investigator. More than anything Darryl loved to tell intriguing stories of stakeouts, arrests, and criminal investigations.

While specializing in investigating white-collar crime, he learned early that nothing is new in scams — every scheme and deception has been tried time and time again. This axiom more than validates his favorite Bible verse from Ecclesiastes 3:15: “Whatever is has already been, and what will be has been before, and God will call the past to account.”

This principle always hovered in his thoughts and eventually led to composing and writing short stories. He considered the verse to be like manna for creating plots and scenes. Darryl published several short stories and articles for his hometown newspaper, the Andalusia Star-News. In 2019, he authored his first novel titled “Passion, Shadows, and Time” and had been working on another, “Clouded Memories,” also predicated on Eccles. 3:15.

Darryl will be deeply missed. Donations may be made in his memory to the Leukemia and Lymphoma Society.