Buddy Drerup M.D.

Bud was born in Union City April 14, 1932. He was the son of the late Alphonse Lawrence Drerup and Mary (Killion) Drerup of Union City. He graduated from Union City High School in 1950 and attended the University of Tennessee, Martin, where he excelled academically. After two years of college, he was accepted to the University of Tennessee Medical School in Memphis. Upon graduation from medical school, he completed internship and residency in internal medicine at the University of Tennessee, Memphis. He left the State of Tennessee in 1959 to establish a private practice in Alexandria, La. He was 27 years old.
Bud married the former Peggy Jane Garrett in 1954. They had four children: Lawrence, Gary, Theresa and Paul. He married the former Eileen Wright in 1973 and was her devoted husband and partner until her death in May of this year. He was an avid golfer, beginning the sport at a young age and playing for decades. Always striving to improve, he was never afraid to experiment with a swing change, sometimes two or three times during a single round of golf. But, in truth, it was hitting the ball with his golf buddies that mattered most.
Bud became an accomplished cook, a hobby he acquired, honed and loved as the assistant to the real chef in the family, Eileen. Their combined talents were highlighted on holidays and birthdays, when the house was filled with family and friends.
Dr. A.L. Drerup Jr. practiced Internal Medicine in Alexandria for 30 years until his retirement in 1989. He was a devoted and innovative physician who cared deeply for his patients and their families. He treated patients at the former St. Frances Cabrini Hospital (now CHRISTUS) and the former Baptist Hospital (now Rapides Regional Medical Center), served on numerous committees throughout his career  and was Chief of Staff at St. Frances Cabrini Hospital.  
He was known as a diagnostician, “the guy to go to” with difficult cases. Throughout his career, he was most proud of the trust and confidence his patients and their families placed in him. He was profoundly honored to be their physician.
He retired in 1989 to fish and play golf. After two months of “retirement,” continuing his love/hate relationship with golf, he decided he had caught enough fish for a lifetime. He once again returned to the practice of medicine for an additional 10 years, first at the VA Alexandria, then at Pinecrest State Hospital.
He was preceded in death by his wife, Eileen Drerup; his parents; his sister, Mary Sue (Drerup) Holland; and two brothers, John William “Jack” Drerup and Walter Eugene “Pinky” Drerup.  
He is survived by his four children, Michael Lawrence Drerup, M.D., and his wife, Kyle (Downs) Drerup, of Alexandria, David Garrett Drerup of Alexandria, Theresa Ann (Drerup) Sullivan of Lafayette, La., and Paul Anthony Drerup, and his wife, Christine Drerup, of Alexandria; two stepdaughters, Shirley Butler, and her husband, David Butler, of Tampa, Fla.; and Donna Deville, and her husband, Michael Deville, of Alexandria. He is also survived by his sister, Helen Francis “Pat” (Drerup) Thompson Kasnow of Union City; and his sister-in-law, Peggy Drerup of Union City. He has 15 grandchildren, 15 great-grandchildren and many nieces and nephews.
Bud was an extremely practical man. He would think this obituary excessive and expensive. Instead, he would prefer to “just tell everybody that Bud woke up dead.” He left this world healthy (except for that last night) and intact, “just a bit older and creakier” than when he arrived.
Pallbearers honored to serve shall be his three sons, M. Lawrence Drerup, M.D., Gary Drerup and Paul Drerup, and David Butler, Mike Deville, Thomas C. David Jr., Stephen D. Downs, M. D., and John W. Drerup.
The funeral service will be Tuesday, beginning at 2 p.m. at Kramer Funeral Home in Alexandria.
Friends may call at the funeral home beginning at 11 the morning of the service. Interment will follow in Alexandria Memorial Gardens, under the direction of John Kramer & Son Funeral Home.
Contributions may be made to St. Rita Catholic Church, 3822 Bayou Rapides Road, Alexandria, LA 71301.