JAMES DOUGLAS LAUGHTER,
92, passed away June 7. Born Feb. 7, 1931 in Little Rock, Ark. Doug grew up in Lamar, the son of the late Dayton Hughes and Josephine Laughter Hughes. He was a typical Arkansas farm kid but, even though he didn’t object to the hard work, he knew he didn’t want to be a farmer. Simply put, he was a born engineer with an aptitude for anything mechanical and later, electronic. There was virtually nothing he encountered in his long life that he couldn’t repair and maintain. He met Patricia, his wife of 70 years, as she was waiting tables at her aunt’s restaurant. He worked in the sawmill across the highway in Clarksville.
Doug joined the Air Force and served in Korea. When he returned, he and Patricia lived in Amarillo briefly and then moved to Little Rock, where he enrolled in Draughon Radio School. He attended class during the day and worked on a janitorial crew at night.
When he graduated from Draughon’s he began work in the control room at KARK-TV. His license to work in radio also served in television. In those days the engineers worked mostly in the studio, but occasionally went on remote broadcasts. Doug was on the ground at Central High broadcasting from the crew truck during the entire integration crisis of 1957, while Patricia watched the events unfold on their tiny black and white TV in their apartment just a few blocks away.
To supplement their income Doug began a second business of television repair, his electronic acumen serving him well. He maintained a repair shop in the garage space of their house and drove a string of station wagons over the years to transport all those televisions. His business grew through word-of-mouth for the simple reason he was friendly and efficient and knew his stuff. His full-time work at KARK meant that, with the addition of his repair business, he usually worked seven days a week, and many late nights. In addition to his consumer television repair, he also worked installing sound and recording systems at churches and businesses throughout Little Rock for a number of years.
Doug advanced at KARK to Chief Engineer and then moved to KTHV in 1978, where he was Vice President of Operations. During his years at KTHV he and Patricia traveled the globe, and made many trips to Las Vegas, all of which they cherished. What empowered Doug in his management of a television station wasn’t just his ability with equipment; he was also an involved and caring boss with both colleagues and employees. Polite and affable to the point of being courtly, he treated everyone with friendly respect, and never met a person he didn’t want to include or help. When an out-ofstate entity bought the television station in 1996, he retired. He’d relinquished the television repair and installation business he’d begun in 1959 when he managed KTHV, so he began an electronics consulting business upon leaving the station. He continued this endeavor until he was in his 80s. Doug was always the go-to source of information and recommendations about the best electronics, devices, and home theater systems. When he and Patricia made out-of-town trips to friends or family, he always carried his large tool satchel because he knew at some point he’d be asked to repair or install something, and he loved being ready to help.
A free sailing lesson in 1990 led to Doug’s long love of the water, and he spent many languorous afternoons on Moon Dancer, his 26-foot sailing boat, gliding over Lake Maumelle. He and Patricia also entertained many times on that boat. In later years, he took great pride in maintaining his lawn, cultivating blooms in his expansive flower beds, grew fine okra, tomatoes, and peppers, and he hosted lively parties. He was cheerful and personable until the very end. It’s a rarity that a man could be as good with people as electronics, but Doug was.
He leaves his wife Patricia, son Michael Laughter, and daughter Cheryl Laughter Taylor. Doug’s family would like to express heartfelt thanks to the administration and staff of Briarwood Nursing Center for their unstinting personal care.
Visitation will be held prior to the service from 1-2 p.m., Tuesday, June 13, 2023 at the Hardwicke Funeral Home Chapel in Clarksville, Ark.
A graveside service will be at 2 p.m., Tuesday, June 13, 2023 at Oakland Cemetery in Clarksville, Ark. with his son, Michael Laughter and his daughter, Chery Laughter Taylor speaking.