Hugh Norton Duhaney

As the first boy, Hugh was doted on by his Grandmother “Bama” and her twin sister, Aunt Lott. Hugh attended Seaside Elementary School in 1946 followed by Happy Grove High School in 1949, graduating in 1953. He often reflected on his status as “headboy” andthe trials and tribulations that came with it.

After graduation, he worked at Monymusk Rum Distillery, owned by the West Indies Sugar Company, followed by the Registry at the Collector General’s Office in Kingston. His goal was to earn enough money to come to the United States.

In 1954, Hugh left Jamaica for the United States to attend Indiana Technical College. Persuaded by his cousin, Edson McIntosh, he enrolled instead into Emmanuel Missionary College, now called Andrews University. Summers were spent working at a veterinary hospital in Hinsdale, Illinois from 1954 to 1961 owned by a family called the Neffs.

Hugh graduated in 1958 and entered Howard University College of Dentistry, where he met his wife, Shirley Anne Duhaney (Davis), a medical student. Hugh and Shirley were married on 09/02/1961 during their senior years, in Roanoke, Virginia. Their first born, Roderick Emerson, was born 8 days before graduation.

Dr. Duhaney began his career as a Professor at Howard University College of Dentistry in 1962, a month after his graduation. In 1968, he left Washington, D.C. to pursue his Masters in Fixed Prosthodontics at Boston University. After graduation, he returned to his professorship at Howard. Dr. Duhaney was Clinical Coordinator of the College of Dentistry from 1962 until 1990. As Clinical Coordinator, Dr. Duhaney collaborated on textbooks for the school and developed initiatives to educate the public on dental health including one with the National Institutes of Health. He traveled to Jamaica on mission trips to aid individuals in need of dental work and traveled the world to evaluate tools to enhance the clinical education of the dental students at Howard.

While teaching, Dr. Duhaney also established a dental practice in the Adams Morgan neighborhood of Washington, D.C. Later, he moved to 16th and Monroe Street where he would retire in 1991. Hugh prided himself on being a “wet-fingered” professor, one who both taught and practiced his dental craft.

A funeral service for Hugh will be held Friday, November 1, 2024 at 11:00 AM at Joseph Gawler's Sons, LLC, 5130 Wisconsin Ave NW, Washington, DC 20016. Following the funeral service will be a burial at 1:00 PM at Rock Creek Cemetery, 201 Allison St NW, Washington, District of Columbia 20011.