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Harold Douglas "Doug" Smith (1956 - 2016) drowned while snorkeling in the Bahamas on a trip to fulfill his promise to his wife, Betty, that he would take some of her ashes to the Caribbean, where they had enjoyed several cruises. It was his ultimate act of love and devotion to the woman he cherished for 35 years.
Doug spent almost all of his life in or near Raleigh. He attended Millbrook High School through his junior year, after which his parents sent him to an all-male school to try to "straighten him out." After his return to Raleigh, at age 17, he shared an apartment with his brother Andy in 74-75. He shared a house with Andy in 77-79, after losing virtually everything. He returned from a trip to the mountains to discover his roommate had accidentally burned the house down, leaving Doug with only the clothes he had taken with him. During those years, friends from Millbrook would sometimes come by to visit and listen to rock and roll. Those who did probably recall that era fondly.
Doug married Betty Oswald Smith in 1980. Their children Sarah and Patrick were born in 1982 and 1983, respectively. Doug said his world changed forever when his daughter was born. He knew his mission was to do all he could for his children.
Doug enjoyed working with his hands, and he became a remarkably talented cabinet maker. He ran Certified Woodworking for many years, until Most Favored Nation status for China and a flood of imported cabinets made competition impossible. His work was featured on the cover and inside of Profiles, a Cabinet Makers Association publication, including the custom cabinet shown in the photo below.
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Doug loved spending time with his family, and was particularly happy spending time with his two granddaughters. He liked to grill and cook, especially with cheese. Cheeseburgers, lasagna, cheese omelets, ham and swiss sandwiches, homemade pimento cheese, ... He loved nearly every cheese he ever tried. He also appreciated an ice cold beer while grilling.
Doug had many friends from all walks of life. His family would be grateful for any memories of him that you might share on this page.
The obituary that ran in the N&O after he passed is linked below. https://www.legacy.com/us/obituaries/newsobserver/name/douglas-smith-obituary?id=12092666
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David Ayscue
I'v shared this story with Andy several times but in our 6th grade class before we went home for the day we were allowed to bring records to listen to Doug was the only one with a Monkees album. Also Doug was simply a great guy for those of us who had an opportunity to know him.Jeffery Scott Fortune
When my Family moved to Johnsdale Rd in 1966 Doug & Andy were neighbors. Doug & I were the same grade at Millbrooks' old 1-12 and we became friends right off the bat. Neighbors , school mates, baseball, clubhouse, flag football in the front yard, riding bicycles , making 8mm home movies, sledding the hill on Johnsdale Rd, , , we had it all going on đź‘Ť
Then there's the Millbrook High School years. The "new" Millbrook HS. Class of '74 was the 2nd class to grace the halls and boy did we feel like BIG MEN on campus ! High School with Doug and all our friends & classmates was an unforgettable time.
Doug has been my neighbor, classmate, fellow "adventurer", roommate, road warrior, beer drinking Buddy, music critic, carpentry instructor, fellow late night story teller and lots more , but above all Doug has been a Best Friend 🙂
Derrick Boissiere
Doug, Doug, Doug. It’s hard to come up with a story to put in writing. I’ll tell any stories in person, over a glass of wine or a small fire, but in print, forever, just a few.Doug and his neighbor Jeff were two of the first guys I met when I started Millbrook in 9th grade. The three of us hit it off and became fast friends.
As kids, we camped out in Doug’s backyard, we went to the State Fair—my first time.
My mom liked both Doug and his brother Andy Smith. Those two had been shaving since pre-K, or so it seemed, and had finally given up and both grew full, full beards. My mom took one look at them and saw the two guys on the Smith Brothers Cough Drops box and never forgot them or their names. It did take her quite a while to tell them apart, though.
Doug was very artistic and we worked together on the school paper, “Cat Talk,” so when I sold a display ad to the local headshop Doug drew up the ad which included a coupon for free rolling papers. I remember Mrs Pollard giving us a hard time about the “wrapping papers,” when she cancelled the ad contract.
Right after high school, Doug and Andy rented an apartment centrally located for all of us that were biding our time until we could move into a dorm and start fall semester. It was in that apartment where we watched Richard “Tricky Dicky” Nixon announce his resignation from the presidency one August evening.
When I decided that all I needed was a toolbox and a Volkswagen Beetle to be a mobile mechanic, Doug was my very first customer. He had enough faith in me to let me rebuild the engine in his truck in his driveway while he was at work.
Later we took the truck up to Blowing Rock to stay with Jeff and see BB King. Our plan was to stay for a night or two, but Jeff showed us such a good time that we stayed in the mountains for a little longer than a week. Doug dropped me off at my house and we joked about how burned out we were from our “weekend.” The next morning he called me to tell me that he arrived home to a chimney and an ash pile. While we were joking about being burned out his house was already gone.
By the time Doug and I were living on Mandell Lane, I had, by default, become a VW mechanic since most everyone I knew drove one. Doug was no exception, he had a Karman-Ghia. It was the sporty Volkswagen. Back in those days you could choose between regular, normal bias ply tires or the new (to the US) radial tires. Doug’s Karman-Ghia being a sports car had radial tires. Doug let me borrow his tires one day so I could see the difference in my Beetle. It was night and day. Everyone rides on radial tires today.
Mandell Lane…For a short, sweet time in the late 70s a bunch of Millbrook folks found themselves living on Mandell Lane. I was there, Janet was there, Todd, Andy and Louise, Jimmy and Patty, Scott, and of course Doug.
Even when we were all living there, we realized it was special. Mandell Lane was (pretty sure it’s gone now) a little dirt cul-de-sac so all the houses faced each other and it was easy to see who was home. Except nobody was hardly ever at their own home. Since all our friends were within walking distance it was one traveling, door to door party. With a floating Risk game going on.
Eventually, I left Mandell Lane for Watauga County and life got in the way and I hardly ever made it back to Raleigh. I saw Doug only from time to time after that. The last time I saw him was at one of the high school reunions around the turn of the century. We spent quite a bit of time catching up, but with time and distance we’d drifted in two separate directions.
Doug, Doug, Doug. I wish I could tell more of our stories… frozen food, fake IDs, midnight rides to Georgia, fireworks on the interstate, jackets in the woods, the obnoxious drunk at your wedding... You know the ones.