Smith Douglas Huggins

After battling with Covid-19 for over a month, Smith Douglas Huggins, a long-time resident of Freeport, Florida, passed away peacefully in the early morning on March 24, 2023, surrounded by loved ones.

Yes, his first name was Smith, but those that did not call him Dad, Granddaddy, or G-Daddy, called him Doug or “Mr. Doug”. He liked to tell people he had three last names. Our beloved father, grandfather, uncle, and friend went to meet his Lord after living a long, happy life full of stories.

Doug was born in Opp, Alabama on January 15, 1932, to Nora Lee Cauley and Alexander Huggins, as the youngest of seven siblings. He often reminisced about his childhood on the farm where he helped his family grow crops and competed in FFA livestock rearing competitions, though the highlight of his adolescence was meeting his future wife and love of his life, Darlene, “at the peanut boil."

He followed his brothers into the service in April 1951. Doug was a Korean War veteran who served in the Navy for four years, with most of that time being on the USS Iowa. It was on leave from the Navy that he married his beloved Darlene.

Once he completed his service, Doug attended Troy University on the GI Bill. In 1959, he graduated with a Bachelor of Science in Mathematics. Shortly after his graduation, Doug and Darlene had two lovely daughters.

In 1963, Doug moved his family to Fort Walton Beach, Florida, where he began a 30-year career as a Mathematician at the Eglin Air Force Base Math Lab. He spent his time there working on some of the earliest computers used by the military. Over the years, he saw technology develop from punch cards to tape to floppy disks by the time of his retirement.

After his time at Eglin, Doug and Darlene moved to Freeport, where they built their dream home on the bayou. They filled their twilight years together with Darlene cooking the vegetables that Doug grew in the garden and fish from off the dock, and being devoted grandparents to their three grandchildren.

Doug inherited his father’s uncanny talent for making friends wherever he went. People couldn’t help but be taken in by his charm, humor, intelligence, and, most importantly, stories. Right to the end, Doug was entertaining friends and family with new tales from his eventful life.

Doug is survived by his daughters, Sharon Dunn and Kathy Camp, and his grandchildren, Rachel Camp, Sarah Wright, and Joey Camp. He is preceded in death by his wife, Darlene Hudson Huggins, his parents, and his siblings, Ocola Huggins Caldwell, Fletcher Huggins, Howard Huggins, Preston Huggins, J C Huggins, and Cecil Huggins.

In lieu of flowers, please donate to the Lymphoma Research Foundation in Doug's honor.

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