MECHANICSVILLE—Alan Lucas Douglas Jr. was born September 23, 1945, and died at Memorial Regional Hospital in Mechanicsville on January 31, 2026, at age 80.
Known as Al, he was born in Anniston, Alabama, and as a child moved to Long Island, New York, where he first lived in Hempstead and later in Garden City. Upon graduation from high school, he attended Springfield College in Springfield, Massachusetts.
He joined the Navy in 1964 and graduated from submarine school, nuclear power training facility and took additional Navy package courses. His years on board the USS Seawolf SSN 575 and the USS Ethan Alan SSBN608 were some of the proudest times of his life. He was able to see interesting places during some of these cruises, Italy, Greece, Spain, Puerto Rico, the Panama Canal and the Arctic.
After being discharged from the Navy, Al worked for Sears Roebuck and Company for 28 years as an appliance repair technician before starting his own appliance repair business.
He and his wife, Elizabeth “Betsy” Short Douglas were married in 1970 on Long Island and moved to Connecticut. When his submarine was transferred to the West Coast they moved to California. Over the next 15 years, they lived in Vallejo, American Canyon and Napa. Prior to moving to Virginia, they lived on Cape Cod for 15 years.
Al is survived by his wife, Betsy; his son, Scott, daughter-in-law (love), Sabrina and two grandchildren, Abby and Lucas.
He was predeceased by his sister, Susan Douglas Howell; and his parents, Alan (senior) and Verna Lee Douglas.
Al was an avid sportsman and loved fishing, boating and hunting. He was an NRA certified coach and instructor, and in his spare time he taught gun safety and shooting to youth groups.
He loved living on the water and cruising both by motor but especially by sail wherever they lived. He said his most challenging time on the water was when he crewed for others in races on San Francisco Bay. He learned to scuba dive and spent many hours diving wrecks around Cape Cod looking for ‘loot’ as well as for his dinner lobster.
His ashes will be returned to his beloved Cape Cod and buried at a later date.
Currie Funeral Home LLC of Kilmarnock handled the arrangements.
