Jimmy Dupré

Frederick Henry Dupre (Downing College, 1920)

Downing College Obituary.

Frederick Henry (Jimmy) Dupre who was several times, until his health prevented it, the senior member at Association Annual Dinners, died in Elstree 8 June 1996, aged almost 96. Born in Hampstead 8 June 1900, he was at Felsted School and came to Downing at the age of 20. First he read Chemistry for two years, then returned to Downing later and read Law from 1926-28, gaining his B.A. in January 1929. In 1926 he married Doris Wills of Cambridge, by whom he had one son and one daughter. Doris died in 1935. On leaving Downing, Jimmy joined his father, Fritz Dupre, who was a manganese and iron-ore merchant in London. His duties involved worldwide travel in connection with sales and supplies. His father died in 1936 and the firm was owned by a family trust, with him as business manager. In 1946 the role of the metal merchant was declining, and Jimmy became interested in vermiculite as an insulating material. He imported vermiculite from South Africa, and processed it into granules suitable for roof insulation, which he sold as Micafil. In 1949 he married again, this time to Ada Prinz from Norway. They had a son and two daughters. Micafil was a success, and when Jimmy retired in 1983 it was sold favourably. A congenial companion who was always unpretentious without being insignificant, Jimmy loved his vintage Rolls Bentley and frequently drove it to the Rhine, where the family owned a small vineyard at Johannisberg. He is survived by his five children and twelve grandchildren and by his brother Peter (1933) who kindly provided the information for this obituary. His brother Walter (1923), who read Law and became a barrister, died in 1981.