Richard Allan Deal

December 7, 1952 – August 8, 2026

Richard Allan “Doug” Deal, 73, passed away at his home in Charlotte, North Carolina, on August 8, 2026.

Known simply as Doug to the people who loved him, he lived a remarkably full life marked by reinvention, independence, generosity, humor, and an extraordinary ability to make friends wherever he went.

Doug attended Queen’s University in Canada and was a former Certified Public Accountant, but no single profession could adequately describe his life. Over the years, he worked in painting and drywall, aboard a passenger train crossing Canada, managed Don Ramon’s restaurant in San Francisco, owned Timber Cove Resort in Jenner, California, and owned Mr. S Leather in San Francisco. His life took many turns, and Doug embraced each new chapter wholeheartedly.

He spent his early years in Oxnard, California, and Manhattan before eventually making San Francisco home for a significant part of his life. He also lived in Mount Mourne, North Carolina, where he had horses and a log cabin; Indian Wells and Palm Springs, California; Davidson, North Carolina; and ultimately Charlotte.

One of the most important people in Doug’s life was his beloved partner, Zachary “Zach” Long, who preceded him in death in 1991. Their life together remained an important part of Doug’s story and of the memories he carried throughout his life.

Doug eventually made his home at Fifth and Poplar in Uptown Charlotte, where for roughly two decades he was one of the community’s most familiar and involved faces. He freely gave his time and considerable knowledge, helping with budgets, elections, mailings, landscaping, resident matters, and seemingly anything else that needed doing. If something was happening at Fifth and Poplar, there was a good chance Doug knew about it, had an opinion about it, or was already helping take care of it.

It was also there that Doug formed many of the friendships that defined the last two decades of his life. Friday nights became a cherished tradition he called “tea,” which meant bourbon, conversation, and often something special to eat.

Doug loved opening his home, bringing out the crystal, serving something good, and making his guests feel that an ordinary evening deserved a little ceremony. Hospitality came naturally to him. He enjoyed good food and conversation, but most of all, he enjoyed having people he cared about gathered around him.

There were sides of Doug that might have seemed contradictory in someone else but fit together perfectly in him. He loved his Harley-Davidson and his Ford diesel dually, particularly during the years when horses were part of his life. He also appreciated the finer things when the occasion called for them. He could be practical and particular, rugged and refined, with a sense of humor entirely his own.

He adored his dog, Missy, a beloved companion whose name came with a characteristically Doug story involving someone from his past and a bit of his unmistakable sense of humor.

More than anything, Doug built a family out of friendship. In the years after Zach’s death, the people who surrounded him became his chosen family. He is lovingly remembered by his dear friends Nick Burnett, Amanda Hamel, Denise Melton, Deb Nugent, and Jarrett Tran, along with many others whose names could never adequately fit into a single obituary but whose places in his life were no less important. These friendships surrounded Doug with companionship, care, laughter, and love throughout the final chapters of his life.

Doug accumulated experiences, stories, friendships, and more than a few opinions over the course of 73 years. But perhaps his greatest legacy was much simpler: he showed up. For his friends, his neighbors, and his community. He made himself useful, made himself memorable, and made the people he loved feel welcome in his home and in his life.

For those fortunate enough to have known him, a glass of bourbon called “tea,” something wonderful to eat, crystal brought out for company, and the sound of friends gathered together will always carry a little bit of Doug with them.

A celebration of life for Richard Allan “Doug” Deal will be held Saturday, August 22, from 6:00 to 9:00 p.m. in the Cyber Cafe and Media Room at Fifth and Poplar Condominiums, 300 West Fifth Street, Charlotte. Friends are invited to stop by, share a story, and have a little “tea” with Doug.