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City of Oaks Funeral Home & Cremations

Obituary
Douglas Black

Smithfield, North Carolina

Age 75.
Died 8/27/2023.

Douglas McClester Black died on Sunday, August 27, 2023, with his wife and life partner of 33 years, Alicia Black by his side after a brief illness where he rested peacefully in hospice care. Doug was born in Pennsylvania in April 1948, but his long-time home was in Los Altos and Sunnyvale, California, where his parents, J. Lester “Les” Black and Martha McClester Black, who predeceased him, relocated in the mid-1960s. And, later in 2000, he decided to move cross country to North Carolina, his wife’s home state. Doug is survived by his wife, Alicia Black of Louisburg, NC, his beloved oldest sister, Martha Wright of Texas, another sister in Georgia, as well as many nieces, nephews, and cousins in California, Georgia, Pennsylvania, and Texas. Doug graduated from the University of California, Davis with a Bachelor of Arts degree in American Studies in 1970. Doug was an avid Model A Ford car collector, and his cars and parts were his true passion. Doug has many Model A Fords and many more parts, and he sincerely enjoyed having friends come by, while he answered questions about Model A Fords, and thoroughly enjoyed telling stories about the old days. Doug was a lifetime member of The Antique Automobile Club of America. Doug was also a sincere animal advocate and especially loved cats. He was always okay with his wife bringing in “one more cat” until they could find it a home or it became a resident, which was more the usual. Doug was an avid reader and loved early 20 th century American history. He also thoroughly enjoyed gardening, especially growing the Early Girl variety tomatoes that everyone relished all summer. And, if anyone ever had a question about music from the late 1960s, Doug had the answer because he was probably at the show. He attended and photographed basically all of the concerts at the Fillmore Auditorium from 1967 until late 1968 in San Francisco, and has all the posters to remember them. We would especially like to thank the SECU Hospice House of Johnston County UNC Healthcare that provided Doug the comfort and dignity that he so well deserved in his final days. Please consider a donation in lieu of flowers to your local cat rescue organization or animal shelter near you in Doug’s memory.

For additional information or for service details, please reach out to the family directly.


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City of Oaks Cremation and Funeral Home is a full-service funeral home in Raleigh, serving all of North Carolina and beyond. We provide an alternative to costly funeral homes and every day we help families in Raleigh, Durham, Chapel Hill and all over North Carolina make simple, affordable funeral arrangements.

Simply having to reach out to a funeral home can feel overwhelming. Our goal is to simplify the entire funeral home experience and make the process as easy as possible. We hope to eliminate any unnecessary surprises by publishing our total cost and the services we provide directly on our website. All of our obituaries are provided free of charge as a way to help families celebrate and commemorate the lives of their loved ones.

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Apples to Apples

Just like all other licensed funeral homes in North Carolina, City of Oaks Cremation, LLC is regulated by the NC Board of Funeral Service.


The same laws that apply to the big corporate funeral homes also apply to the modest independently owned firms like ours. All crematories in North Carolina, regardless of who owns them, are inspected annually by the state and must adhere to the same rules and laws.

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Genuine Care

We're committed to providing families within our community unsurpassed service before, during and after the time of loss.


Our staff will provide clear communication to your family through each step as we move forward from the original phone call notifying us of a death to the time we deliver the urn back to your family. We will treat your family with the utmost respect, as we honor the wishes of your loved one.


We promise to make this process affordable and as endurable as possible.

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State Wide

Our Funeral Home is located in Wake County NC; however, we provide our services to families throughout the entire State.


Unlike other funeral homes, we don't charge an additional mileage fee. Regardless of what county you live in, we can help your family with making simple, affordable funeral arrangements. From Asheville to Wilmington, we're proud to help families statewide.