Donald Earl Dugger

Donald Earl “Don” Dugger, longtime resident of Bradford, Arkansas, gained his heavenly wings on Friday, August 30, 2019, at the age of 90. He was born on November 1, 1928, in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, to Earl and Eulalia Wolff Dugger. Following his graduation from North Division High School in Milwaukee in 1946, Mr. Dugger worked for a time as an usher and doorman for the Jackson Theatre in Milwaukee and also as a guide directing tours at WTMJ-TV in Milwaukee. After a while there, he was promoted to the job of messenger in the mailroom and then grew as floorman (stage hand and stage electrician) at the station. Then, the Army called during the Korean Conflict, and he was reluctantly dragged to serve as PFC Dugger at Fort Monmouth, New Jersey. Every chance he had, he would go to nearby New York for every Broadway show he could. Then, he was shipped out to Japan where he got to see a bit of the world. After his time in the service, he returned back to his normal life as a stagehand at WTMJ-TV in Milwaukee and would travel for some of many Broadway shows, such as “South Pacific, Picnic and Holiday On Ice”. Although he never participated on the stage, he was able to work with celebrities back in the day. In 1955, he quit his job and followed his parents to Arkansas where he set up his own TV repair shop. Soon after he came to Bradford, he was asked to take a job in the Newport Hospital as an X-Ray Technician. It was while working there, he met his wife Joan. She was one of the patients in the X-Ray room. Mr. Dugger married Joan on September 5, 1958, and quit his job to enroll in Harding College on the GI Bill to become a teacher. He managed to receive his degree in three and a half years. He started his student teaching at Bald Knob High School in 1963, and he returned in 1964 teaching Geometry, general Math, and Algebra II. He picked up a fascination for printing while teaching a course in Graphic Arts. So he started on a venture and purchased a Chandler and Price 8 x 12 platen press which was built somewhere around 1912 which used hand set type and had to be hand fed. For many years, he juggled teaching, printing, and taking care of his family. In 1982, he stopped teaching and steadily worked in his printing shop where he specialized in low-cost, high-quality printing for churches, schools, and also for the town’s water bills, business cards, rubber stamps, etc. He had 125 different type styles and sizes ranging from 6 to 72 point type. Mr. Dugger was a member of the Bradford Baptist Church where he was a Sunday school teacher for nearly 50 years. You would find him and Joan on the same pew every time the church doors were open. He had the best sense of humor as well as the gift of gab. One of his favorite things was to express himself with the use of “puns” and he would say that he had “Stale puns and coffee” for breakfast everyday. Mr. Dugger was also a weekly columnist in several local newspapers around the area including the “Bald Knob Banner” and the “Woodruff County Monitor” and others. His column “A Little Off The Top” was enjoyed for well over a decade with hundreds of articles written. Mr. Dugger is preceded in death by his parents, Earl and Eulalia Dugger, and one son, David Andrew Dugger. He is survived by his wife of 60 years, Joan L. Dugger, of the home; one daughter, Dianne Gail Dugger Cain and husband Mark of McCrory, and one son, Dennis Earl Dugger of Bradford; seven grandchildren: Trista Cain Cox and husband Michael of Jonesboro, Matt Cain and wife Melanie of McCrory, Amanda Dugger of Jonesboro, Bryant Dugger of Fayetteville, Amber Feagin and husband Jordon of Bald Knob, Abby Dugger of Bald Knob and Ian Dugger of Bald Knob; and eight great-grandchildren: Avery Cox of Jonesboro, Jett Cox of Jonesboro, Chloe Feagin of Bald Knob, Marley Cain of McCrory, Willow Cox of Jonesboro, Lily Feagin of Bald Knob, Natalie Cain of McCrory and Kylie Cain of McCrory. Visitation will be Monday, September 2nd between the hours of 6-8 p.m. at Powell Funeral Home of Bald Knob. Funeral services will be held at 2 p.m. on Tuesday, September 3rd at the Bradford Baptist Church with interment in Gracelawn Cemetery of Tuckerman.

Donald Earl Dugger

November 1, 1928 - August 30, 2019