Dudley "GI" Bourne, Sr.

Dudley Merwin “GI” Bourne, Sr., age 91, passed away peacefully at his home on Sunday, January 3, 2021.

A service celebrating his life will be held at 11:00 a.m. Saturday, January 16, 2021, at McReynolds, Nave & Larson in Clarksville, Tennessee, with Rev. Jimmie Edwards officiating. Burial will follow at Greenwood Cemetery in Clarksville. Visitation will be from 9:00 to 11:00 a.m. Saturday at McReynolds, Nave & Larson. The service will also be livestreamed via Facebook.

Dudley was a strong Christian, having accepted Christ as a teenager. He served his community and his church for as long as he was able to. He had a quick wit and possessed a very special blend of love, compassion, good humor and common sense, one of the nicest men you would ever have the privilege to know.
He was born in Clarksville, TN, on November 2, 1929, the only son of the late Charles Richard Bourne and Frances Stainbrook Bourne. In addition to his parents, he was also preceded in death by his wife of 51 years, Martha Hayes Bourne, his son Charles Richard Bourne, II, his grandson, Jason Charles Bourne, and his sister, Charline Bourne Catignani. Dudley is survived by his wife, Irene Markle Bourne; his children, Martha (Gary) Davis, daughter-in-law Gayle Bourne, Dudley (Holly) Bourne, Jr., Laura (John) Nilsen, Marianne (Mike) Brown, Tom (Shawna) Bourne, Walter Markle, and Anna Markle; his grandchildren, Becky (Thomas) Trotter, Ashley (Cale) Rice, Allison Davis, Richie Davis, Amanda (Eric) Carmel, Megan Bourne, Paul (Taryn) Nilsen, Liz (Adam) Holleran, Erik Nilsen, Bailey Brown, Brooke Brown, Blaze Bourne, Braiden Bourne, and John (Anna Grace) Markle; and by his great-grandchildren, Kinlee, Ryatt and Shepard Nilsen, Davis Trotter, Jackson and Stella Rice, including Baby Holleran to arrive in a few weeks. He is also survived by a favorite brother-in-law, Dorman Vaughn, as well as many beloved nieces and nephews and their families.
Dudley was raised in the St. Bethlehem area. In addition to milking the cows each day, he also helped his dad raise bird dogs. He attended Clarksville High School where he received the nickname “GI” from his high school coach, Houston Cecil, when he wore GI boots to gym one day. The name stuck and he was GI from then on to all his friends and family. He received his business degree from Austin Peay State College. While there, he played football for the Austin Peay Governors under the leadership of Coach Dave Aaron. One of his jobs during college was working for Roy Acuff at Dunbar Cave, both as a lifeguard at the pool and as needed for dances in the cave, which was a popular gathering place for Clarksville residents during the Big Band era.

Upon graduation from APSU, Dudley joined the army and was eventually stationed at Fort Kobe in the Panama Canal Zone. After his discharge in 1953, he returned home to Clarksville, married his high school sweetheart and began to raise what would become a family of six children and a menagerie of dogs, cats, hamsters and horses. He soon discovered his calling in the furniture business at Sterchi Brothers Furniture Store in Clarksville. In the sixties, while working at the Athens, Georgia, Sterchi Brothers store, he became a lifelong, card-carrying, Larry Munson listening, I’ve got the red and black den, sick ‘em yelling, Georgia Bulldog Fan. Though they moved back to Tennessee for a few years after leaving Athens, he and his family later moved to Marietta, Georgia, where they lived for 30 years and his passion for the Bulldogs never waned. His last position with Sterchi Brothers was head of the Atlanta area retail stores. During this time, he was awarded the coveted Good Guy Award by the Georgia Home Furnishings Association. After leaving Sterchi’s, Dudley owned and operated Bourne’s Food Store in Marietta, Georgia. In 1983, Dudley was able to realize his dream of opening his own furniture store, Bourne’s Home Furnishings, also in Marietta. After retiring from the grocery and furniture store businesses, Dudley and Martha traveled the United States delivering missiles for the government through several transportation companies. Dudley continued this work on his own when Martha’s health declined until they decided to return to Tennessee in 2002.

Dudley always enjoyed spending time with his family. He taught each of his children and countless nieces and nephews how to water ski on “the little red skis.” He and Martha always encouraged their children and grandchildren in whatever endeavors they wanted to pursue. They spent many hours cheering on their cowboys at rodeos across the country and had an open-door policy to all who chose to “crash” after a rodeo at their home.

Sometime after Martha’s death in 2005, Dudley attended a reunion at APSU and ran into Irene White Markle, a fellow student council officer he had not seen for 59 years. The two of them were almost inseparable after that reunion and were married in April of 2007. His children want to express their love and appreciation for Irene and the way she enriched his life with her love and companionship.

Since July of 2018, Dudley has resided at Be Blessed HomeCare in Hendersonville, a special home with caregivers who treated him like he was, in their words, king of the castle. Words cannot express how thankful we are for these angels who cared for him as if he was their own father. We also extend our sincere thanks and appreciation to the loving people with HighPoint Hospice who ministered to our dad for the last two years and to the wonderful staff and doctors at the Nashville Veterans Administration. You all were amazing.

Honorary pallbearers will be Paul Nilsen, Erik Nilsen, Blaze Bourne, Braiden Bourne, Cale Rice, Thomas Trotter, Eric Carmel, and Adam Holleran.

For those who wish, memorial contributions may be made to Folds of Honor Foundation, Department 13, Tulsa, OK 74182, (918) 274-4700.

“Live a life of wonder. Don’t shine so others can see you.
Shine so that, through you, others can see Him.” - C.S. Lewis