Honorable Judge D. Kevin Dugan

D. Kevin Dugan

May 13, 1949 — April 18, 2026

Loving · Kind · Faith-Filled

With hearts full of sorrow, boundless gratitude, and the unwavering faith he so beautifully embodied, the family of the Honorable Judge D. Kevin Dugan, known to all who loved him simply as Kevin, announces his peaceful passing on April 18, 2026, at 76 years old. Kevin did not merely live a life; he built one, full of love and spirituality, leaving behind a legacy that will echo through every heart he touched.

A Life Shaped by the World

Kevin Dugan was born on May 13, 1949, into the proud and adventurous life of an Army family. The son of Michael and Shirley Dugan, he traveled the world from an early age alongside his parents and siblings as a true "Army brat," calling military bases in the United States, Japan, Guam, and Heidelberg, Germany, home. It was in Heidelberg that he completed his high school education, a fitting place for a young man whose life would always be defined by a broad perspective, a love of people across all cultures, and an unshakeable sense of justice.

A Career Defined by Justice and Service

Kevin pursued his calling with extraordinary dedication. He earned his law degree from the prestigious Georgetown University Law School in Washington, D.C. and was admitted to the D.C. Bar in 1977. His early career as an attorney in Washington brought him to speak before the United States Congress, where he served as a powerful advocate for Social Security Disability claimants, speaking truth to power on behalf of those who had no voice.

Following a distinguished career in litigation and administrative law in North Carolina, Kevin passed the rigorous Office of Personnel Management examinations in 1990 and was appointed as an Administrative Law Judge, a role that defined the next three decades of his life. In 2008, he relocated to Florida with his wife, Inelka, where he was appointed Director of the Office of Hearing Operations for Social Security Disability in Fort Lauderdale. He continued serving as an Administrative Law Judge for Social Security Disability until 2018.

In retirement, Kevin's commitment to justice never wavered. Together with his beloved wife, Inelka, he founded Dugan Disability Law, where he continued to provide compassionate legal guidance, offering pro-bono representation to Social Security Disability claimants who could not afford legal counsel. It was the truest expression of who he was: a man who used every gift he had in service to others.

A Man of Deep and Living Faith

At the center of Kevin's life was his Catholic faith; not a quiet, private faith, but a living, active, and radiant one. He prayed the Rosary every single day without fail. He was consecrated to Our Lady of Guadalupe and made the sacred journey to the Basilica of Our Lady of Guadalupe in Mexico City to complete that consecration in person. He traveled to the National Centre for Padre Pio in Barto, Pennsylvania, where he completed a pilgrimage and profession of faith, drawing deep inspiration from Padre Pio's example of suffering, compassion, and trust in God's providence.

Kevin's faith was not ornamental. It was the engine of his compassion; it drove him to give generously to the sick and the poor, to see the face of Christ in every claimant who walked through his courtroom or his office door, and to hold his family together with a love that mirrored the One he served.

That faith also carried him far beyond the walls of any church. For some years, Kevin traveled to Jamaica and Belize with his brother Pat, as part of his Church's mission ministry — rolling up his sleeves alongside fellow volunteers to build houses for families living in poverty. He did not go as a benefactor standing at a distance; he went as a servant, working with his hands, sharing meals, and offering his heart to communities who needed to know they were not forgotten.

He was also a devoted supporter of Father Holong's mission to care for the homeless in Jamaica, a cause that resonated deeply with the same conviction for human dignity that had defined his entire legal career. In Father Holong's work, Kevin found a reflection of his own calling: to show up, to give generously, and to leave every person he encountered with more hope than they had before he arrived.

The Fairways, the Friendships, and the Adventures

For over forty years, golf was more than a pastime for Kevin; it was a language of friendship. Every weekend in Fort Lauderdale, he could be found on the course alongside his cherished brother Chris and his beloved best friends, Greg and Bryan, sharing rounds, trading good-natured wagers, laughing between holes, and stretching the stories long after the final putt had dropped. Those fairways were his sanctuary of brotherhood, and the men who walked them with him carry a piece of him forever.

Kevin also loved the gym with the discipline of a true athlete; swimming, diving, and hiking kept his spirit sharp and his heart open to the beauty of the natural world. He and Inelka were passionate travelers, venturing together to destinations across the globe and discovering the world through the windows of ocean liners headed to remote and breathtaking places. His greatest travel dream, a transatlantic crossing from Fort Lauderdale to London, was fulfilled in 2025. Those who knew him say he was absolutely radiant that day.

Music, Mystery, and the Magic of Christmas

Kevin was a man of rich inner life, and music was one of its most beautiful expressions. He played the harmonica; not as a performance, but as a personal joy, drawing warm, soulful notes that seemed to come straight from the heart. His musical tastes were as layered as the man himself: he loved the cool sophistication of Jazz and the raw, electric energy of Classic Rock, often letting both fill a room with equal enthusiasm.

Kevin also possessed a wonderful passion for detective fiction and murder mysteries. At the very top of his list stood the incomparable Hercule Poirot. He delighted in the elegant precision of a well-laid mystery, perhaps recognizing in Poirot's tireless pursuit of justice a kindred spirit to his own decades on the bench.

When his birthday arrived, Kevin's idea of the perfect celebration was simple and perfect: a pool party, surrounded by his family. The splashing, the laughter, the food, the familiar faces of the people he cherished most; that was his idea of heaven on earth. No grand gesture could ever top the gift of having his family close.

And then there was the Fourth of July, a celebration Kevin adored with every fiber of his patriotic, joyful soul. The annual beach party at Nanny's was nothing short of legendary in his eyes. He loved everything about it: the sun, the waves, the gathering of family, the smell of summer in the air. But the crowning jewel of the entire evening was Uncle Pat's Firework Extravaganza. Kevin was that man, eyes wide, grinning from ear to ear, completely transfixed by every burst of color lighting up the night sky. He did not merely watch those fireworks; he celebrated them, as only Kevin could.

Thanksgiving was another holiday that held a very special place in Kevin's heart. For him, it was never simply a meal; it was a sacred pause, a moment to look around the table at the people he loved and feel the full weight of how blessed he was. Gratitude came naturally to Kevin; Thanksgiving simply gave everyone else an excuse to celebrate what he felt every day.

But of all the seasons of the year, none lit Kevin up quite like Christmas. He adored everything about the holiday: warmth, faith, family, tradition. And every year, without fail, the first week of December meant one thing: Movie Time for Christmas Vacation. He would settle in and watch it with pure, unguarded delight, laughing until tears streamed down his face, and then laughing again at the very same scenes he had seen a hundred times before. His joy in those moments was not just contagious; it was a gift. It was the sound of a man who knew how to be happy, and who wanted everyone around him to be happy too.

His Greatest Treasure: Family

Above all titles and achievements, Kevin Dugan was a family man. He honored his father Michael's wish of protecting and caring for each of his siblings and children, not out of obligation, but out of love. Raised by Michael and Shirley to be steadfast and generous, he carried their values into every relationship he ever had. A devoted husband, tender father, committed brother, and beloved grandfather and uncle, he made everyone in his orbit feel they were the most important person in the room.

Perhaps the most profound and lasting gift Kevin ever gave his family was not something bought or built; it was something written. In one of the most meaningful undertakings of his life, Kevin spent an entire year researching, writing, and assembling a book about his family's history, a living testament to the Dugan legacy. He dove deep into the past, meticulously documenting how his beloved parents, Michael and Shirley, met, fell in love, and built the extraordinary family that became his greatest treasure.

The research took him into the history of World War II, tracing his father Michael's time in service with the dedication of a true historian and the reverence of a devoted son. He collected old photographs, preserved fading memories, and crafted each page as a deliberate homage — not just to his parents, but to every sibling, every story, and every thread that had been woven together to form the fabric of the Dugan family.

That gigantic task held with his wife, Inelka, had been a dream he had carried for years, and together they saw it through to completion. When the book was finished, it was more than family history. It was a declaration of love; Kevin's greatest gift to his family and to every generation of Dugans yet to come. In those pages, he will never stop speaking.

He is survived by his beloved wife, Inelka Quiros Dugan. He also leaves behind his loving children, Meredith Lasch, her husband Colin Lasch, and their cherished children, Amelie and Soren; and Andrew Dugan and his wife, Mary Claire Dugan. He was preceded in death by his son, Brendan Dugan.

He is also survived by his siblings, Shaun Dugan and his wife, Trish Brow; Bryan Dugan and his wife, Sue Dugan; Keith Dugan and his wife, Becca Dugan; Kelly Natale; and Patrick Dugan and his wife, Jenna Riley. He was preceded in death by his brothers, Chris Dugan and Michael Dugan.

He is further survived by his mother-in-law, Hannia Alvarado A.; his uncle, Jorge Alvarado A.; and his brothers-in-law, Freddy Ramirez and his wife, Windy Chacon, and Kevin Ramirez and his wife, Gabriela Pena. He was also preceded in death by his father-in-law, Freddy Ramirez S.

"Well done, good and faithful servant."

Matthew 25:21

Kevin Dugan did not leave this world quietly; he left it richer, more just, more faithful, and more loved than he found it. His smile was a gift. His laugh was a remedy. His life was a prayer. May he rest in the peace he always trusted was waiting for him and may the God he loved so faithfully welcome him with the same open arms Kevin always opened to the world.

✝ Eternal rest grant unto him, O Lord. ✝