Dr Ray Dugger 2

 

Dr Ray Dugger 2

I did not exaggerate much when I told you of his first appearance in the First Baptist Church of Marysville, California. It was the early 1970s and lots of wild things were going on. The hippies were turning into Jesus freaks at an alarming rate, and soon the whole country was going to notice.

I think Ray Dugger was in his eighties, though he may just have looked like it. He drove down from Sacramento every Sunday and every Wednesday (and needed times between). I think of myself, in my early seventies, trying to negotiate all that traffic and roads, and frankly I am in awe. But the truth is that Rev. Dugger just looked old. It turned out that he was diabetic, and had been diagnosed from his youth. In those days being diabetic was akin to having a death appointment somewhere in the near future. In fact, his own doctor told him that he would suffer an early death.

As a young adult, Ray must have been quite fiery, for he looked the doctor in the eye, and told him in a bold statement, “I am not going to die early. In fact, I am going to preach your funeral.” And indeed, years later he was to officiate at his doctor’s funeral. And that is what we were to find out was only one of the many amazing stories of Ray Dugger.

Fifty odd years ago all of this happened and I still remember those stories, and when I think back on them, I often find myself grinning from ear to ear. Being diabetic, Dr. Dugger had to take provisions. His wife dutifully carried a glass of orange juice into the church and would sit on the front pew. At times of low blood sugar, the Doctor would struggle, and sometimes even collapse to the floor. The deacons would rush to him, his wife would carry up the juice to him, and he would drink. With restored blood sugar, he would grip again the sides of the pulpit and finish his message as if nothing had happened. An amazing man!