December 2, 2015
December 2, 2015
I send a belated condolence to the family and friends of your loss.
Ronald Douglas McCombs is the youngest son of Van Kirk McCombs and Sarah Edna Carson. He was born on February 20, 1963 in Knoxville, Tennessee. During the next fifty-two years he lived in Alabama, Florida, Virginia, Germany, North Carolina, South Carolina, and Georgia. He completed three years in the Jazz Studies Program at the University of Tennessee in Knoxville, before moving to Atlanta to begin his career as a musician.
He quickly distinguished himself as one of the most gifted and versatile guitarists in the city, recording and touring with the bands Fear Glory, Texas Crude, Gracie Moon, and the Tone Brothers. Every note he plays, Doug plays with a tender ferocity and righteous tone awash with generosity and soul and truth. He could truly stand up next to a mountain, and chop it down with the edge of his guitar.
But he is so much more than that. If you need someone to teach you how to play the guitar, call Doug. If you need someone to repair your electronics or musical equipment, call Doug. If you need someone to manage your law firm’s office and client files, call Doug. If you need someone to provide design and customer support for your software company, call Doug. If you need someone to take care of you when you are sick or afraid, call Doug. He will do each of these things with humility, dedication, compassion, and grace. And he will always make you laugh.
Although he has lived the touring musician life for over thirty years, the closest Doug comes to rock star excess is Fat Matt's Rib Shack and Mississippi sweet tea. He will also gladly lay waste to a double order of Cracker Barrel biscuits and gravy.
Doug doesn’t care about owning stuff. If he can’t fit it into his truck, he doesn’t need it. If you need something he has, he doesn't need it. He shares his light and love cheerfully and unconditionally. He is a benevolent son, selfless brother, inspiring uncle, and loyal friend.
Most importantly, he is a fiercely devoted and nurturing father. For the past twenty years, he has given every atom of his heart and soul to his beloved Miles Vaughan. He glows with pride and delight in celebrating Miles' intelligence, wit, creativity, and talent. He aches when they are apart. He exults when they are together. He loves Miles with a joy and tenderness that illuminate every moment of their life together.
Doug is survived by his mother, Sarah Carson, his brothers, Van Kirk McCombs II and Mark Alan McCombs, his nephews, Mark Douglas McCombs and Kevin Doyle McCombs, and his son, Miles Vaughan McCombs. In lieu of flowers, it was Doug’s hope that donations would be made to his nephew Mark Douglas’ nonprofit organization,
renaissancejax.org
established to provide mentorship and support to competitive FIRST robotics programs in North Florida.
Tributes
Leave a tribute
November 20, 2015
November 20, 2015
Thank you for your generous gift of time and kindness. Although we never met in person, I miss you.
November 19, 2015
November 19, 2015
Doug, I miss our daily messages to each other, you could always make me laugh even on my saddest days, thanks for your friendship..until we meet again! You will be forever in my heart!
November 19, 2015
November 19, 2015
We never met but you made my day by your caring, thoughtful manner. You are gone too soon but may you rest in God's arms .
November 19, 2015
November 19, 2015
He was so helpful to me with Monogram Wizard problems... So patient and kind.. He will be missed!
November 18, 2015
November 18, 2015
I sure do miss you, Dougie. <3
Leave a Tribute
Recent Tributes
December 2, 2015
December 2, 2015
I send a belated condolence to the family and friends of your loss.
November 20, 2015
November 20, 2015
Thank you for your generous gift of time and kindness. Although we never met in person, I miss you.
November 19, 2015
November 19, 2015
Doug, I miss our daily messages to each other, you could always make me laugh even on my saddest days, thanks for your friendship..until we meet again! You will be forever in my heart!
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Recent stories
He helped save my life!
January 24, 2022
by Sam Jones
My wife left me in 1993. I thought it was the end of the world at the time. Seeing Doug play with Gracie Moon at the Dark Horse Tavern brought back the life that had been sucked out of me. One of the best guitar players and bands I have ever seen live. He left us way too soon.
Comfort
December 7, 2015
by Mark McCombs
Doug came up to Chapel Hill in late April of 2010 so he could help Tate take care of me after I suffered a near-fatal heart attack brought on by 100% blockage of my LAD artery, aka, "the widow maker."
During the two weeks he was here, he cheerfully worked his ass off. He drove me to and from my cardiac rehab sessions. He re-shingled and painted our falling apart firewood shed. He rewired two table lamps. He repaired our totally fucked up weedeater and lawnmower. He made me watch "Me, Myself, and Irene," "Talladega Nights," "Step Brothers," and "Bad Santa."
But by far the biggest reason that I started to feel better was the fact that he brought one of his guitars, along with a small amp. Watching and listening to Doug play his signature transcendent arrangement of "Little Wing," I could feel my heart growing stronger.
Agonizingly, six months later, Doug's bipolar illness pulled him down into the seemingly bottomless pit of soul-crushing depression. When we talked on the phone, it was excruciatingly clear that he was feeling overwhelmed and paralyzed by fear, and self-doubt, and disorienting sorrow.
Doug didn't have health insurance, so I drove to Conyers on three consecutive weekends in November to try to help him begin seeing a doctor at the Public Health Clinic there. I'm sure I didn't even come close to taking care of him the way he had nursed me back to health. But I did insist that he would be riding back to Chapel Hill to spend Christmas with me and Tate.
Thankfully, over the next few weeks, with the help of his doctor at the Public Health Clinic, Doug ever so gradually began to emerge from the terrifying darkness that had enveloped him.
Certainly the most heart-wrenching moment during my first trip to Conyers was when Doug haltingly said to me, "I can't even bear to pick up my guitar." My throat absolutely clenched in sadness. It was if he just said that he had lost his ability to breathe. I wanted so desperately to be able to help him see his own beauty and goodness and incalculable worth.
My prayers were answered a few weeks later on the last day of his Christmas visit with me and Tate. As we were getting ready to make the drive back to Conyers, Doug asked me to sit down with him in our sunroom. To my infinite joy, he picked up his acoustic guitar and said, "Here's something I wrote for you this morning. It's called Waiting for You to Wake."
On February 20, his birthday, he sent me this card in the mail.
Every time I look at it, I am filled with the joy of Doug's life-restoring love, and grace, and courage, and strength.
Thank you, my beloved Doug. Your love sustains me through EVERY moment.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fjRpRVnP3J4
Doug's Christmas Gift
November 28, 2015
by Mark McCombs
At Doug's memorial celebration on November 9, his dear friend, Chris Murphy, shared a story about a Christmas gift of music that Doug made for family and friends in 1989.
I've uploaded to my google drive mp3s of the songs and Chris' tribute to Doug. I've also included some artwork I made for the song collection.
The version of "Amazing Grace" is the only time that I've ever heard Doug sing. To say that it overwhelms me is the understatement of the millennium.
https://drive.google.com/folderview?id=0BzF17mBb29TlOWNWMEZyc0N3UWs&usp=sharing