Dick was born on July 24, 1930 in Kannapolis, North Carolina. He attended the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill earning a degree in Business Administration in 1952. While an undergraduate student, Dick was a member of both Beta Gamma Sigma and Phi Beta Kappa.
Upon graduating from Chapel Hill, Dick joined the United States Army, serving his country for two years before being honorably discharged in 1954. Following his service, Dick worked with A.M. Pullen & Company for several years during which time he became a Certified Public Accountant, a certification he maintained for over 56 years. In 1956, Dick returned to Chapel Hill to attend law school, graduating in 1959 from the University of North Carolina School of Law with honors. While in law school, Dick was inducted into the Order of the Coif and served as a member of the Law Review. Upon graduation, Dick became one of the first professionals in North Carolina to be both an attorney and a Certified Public Accountant, a distinction he considered a privilege and an honor and which served his clients well over his many years of practice.
In 1959, Dick joined Smith Moore Smith Schell & Hunter, and began the professional work which would be his avocation and passion for the next fifty-two years. In 1974 Dick Tuggle and Jim Duggins founded Tuggle Duggins, a law firm to which he committed his significant professional and business skills for the next 38 years. Dick, along with his friend and law partner, Jim Duggins, worked with passion, skill and professionalism to provide exceptional service and advice to every client of the Firm. Dicks’s genuine interest in his client’s success resulted in a loyal and committed clientele. Dick’s work was dedicated to the understanding that the client was not dependent on him but he was dependent on the client. Dick and his clients were supported by his devoted assistant of 30 years, Patricia Cox. His law practice included a broad range of areas, including estate planning, corporate and business law. By all measures, Dick was a “lawyers’ lawyer” and a man who exemplified what it means to be a professional. Even during his battle with the pancreatic cancer, his clients and their many legal needs were of paramount concern to him, as he always placed the interests of his clients and his family ahead of his own.
Over the last six decades Dick worked diligently to develop and advance the legal profession, the professional life of others, and the legal profession’s service to the community. Dick is a founder of the Southern Federal Tax Institute, the founder and past president of the Greensboro Estate Planning Council, and worked on numerous tax and business programs for the North Carolina Bar and the North Carolina Association of Certified Public Accountants. He is the recipient of the John B. McMillian Distinguished Service Award from the North Carolina State Bar for his lifelong commitment to the legal profession as well as the recipient of the Lifetime Achievement Award from the North Carolina Association of Certified Public Accountants. He was a member of the United States Tax Court, the North Carolina Bar Association and the North Carolina Association of Certified Public Accountants. He has been listed in Best Lawyers in America since 1983, is a Fellow in the American College of Tax Counsel and is a member of the American Institute of Certified Public Accountants.
Dick is a former president and longtime member of Sedgefield Country Club, living a short distance from the clubhouse since 1973, and a past president of the Maisons-sur-Mer Homeowners Association in Myrtle Beach, South Carolina. The Educational Foundation of the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill awarded Dick the distinction of Super Ram, a reflection of his lifetime love and support for Tar Heels.
Dick is survived by his beloved wife Carol L. Tuggle; son Richard (Rick) J. Tuggle, Jr. of Burlington; daughter Elizabeth (Beth) Tuggle Sanchez of Charlotte; and two grandchildren, Anna Elizabeth London and Steven London; brother, Paul Tuggle and his wife, Louise, and two nieces, Paula Tuggle and Kinley Morris.
The family would like to thank his medical team at Cone Health, particularly Dr. Bradley Sherrill for the exceptional medical care he received during his illness.
In lieu of flowers, please make contributions to Hospice and Palliative Care of Greensboro, 2500 Summit Avenue, Greensboro, NC 27405, or the charity of one’s choice.
At Dick’s request, funeral services will be private.
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