Obituary
Cortland Otis Dugger was born on April 26, 1926 to Lt. Col. Edward and Madeline Kountze Dugger. His siblings were Edward, Barbara, Madeleine, Portia and Ione. Cortland departed this life on April 8, 2018.
In 1930 his father, the late Lt. Col. Edward Dugger, for whom Dugger Park in Medford is named, had a home built for the family on Jerome Street in West Medford, MA. Cortland attended grammar school through high school in Medford graduating from Medford High in 1944. He then joined the Navy and served as a pharmacist’s mate primarily stationed on the West Coast during WWII and the Korean War. When he was discharged, he took advantage of the GI Bill and attended Tufts University earning a Bachelor’s degree in Biology and Chemistry in 1950. Cortland was proud to attend Tufts where his adored big brother Eddie was a national collegiate hurdles champion.
Cortland furthered his education and obtained a M.S. in Material Sciences and Engineering from Northeastern University in Boston, and an M.A. in Business Management from Central Michigan University. He also studied Chemistry and Mathematics at Howard University where he met Eva Ernestine King, and the two were married on Howard’s campus in 1956. Their children Hilary King and Cortland Ormond Dugger, II completed the family. He also had a special fondness for his grandson Cortland O’Ryan Dugger, III.
Cortland worked in many fields - always doing scientific things. He was a biochemist and bacteriologist with U.S. Government Hospitals after his military service. He was employed as a solid-state research chemist at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (M.I.T.) Lincoln Laboratory and also worked at the Air Force Cambridge Research Laboratories at Hanscom Field in that capacity. In 1975, he moved with his family to the Washington, D.C. area where he worked at Headquarters Air Force Systems Command at Andrews AFB as the Director of Science and Technology. He was also assigned to the National Science Foundation.
Cortland then went on to work for GTE Laboratories Inc. and developed a material that could be used in fluorescent light bulbs which he named “Duggerite”. When he learned his invention was infringed on, he had difficulty in finding a patent lawyer. Eventually he was successful in finding representation. It was unusual at the time for a Black inventor to sue a major corporation. The suit was eventually settled in his favor and highlighted in a Washington Post article “An Inventors Triumph” in 1988 and also covered by The Boston Globe. He founded HilCort Corporation in the 1970’s, naming the company after his children and using the company to help new inventors overcome economic and racial barriers in developing their ideas.
Cortland held five U.S. patents and was author and co-author of more than 20 papers published in national and international scientific journals. In 1993 he was honored to receive a “Model of Excellence Award” for Science and Inventions by Colgate Palmolive Co. He was a member of the Materials Research Society for decades.
Cortland returned to West Medford in 2005, living on Jerome Street in the family home that he loved so much, in the community that he regarded so highly. He spent the last 6 months of his life at Artis Senior Living in Reading where he was known as a gentleman and always helped straighten up after meals and social events. He was visited frequently by his nephew Mabray Andrews on whom he had come to rely when he returned to West Medford. Other family and friends also visited him there.
Cortland was a member of the Omega Psi Phi Fraternity, the Prince Hall Masonic Lodge and attended Shiloh Baptist Church when able. He enjoyed listening to music, playing poker, reading and walking. Cortland’s passion for photography was shared with several nephews, other family members and friends. He also liked to share his knowledge and was known to pick up the phone or mail an inspirational story or article he felt would help someone. Like his father, his uncles and other men in the family, he was a caring person, a person of integrity, a true gentleman and a family man.
Cortland leaves to cherish precious memories his dear friend and ex-wife, Eva, his daughter Hilary (Angelo Colbert), son Cortland II and grandson Cortland III, and a host of cousins, nieces, nephews and friends.
Funeral Services will be held on Friday, April 20, 2018 at Shiloh Baptist Church, 11 Holton Street, Medford, MA with a viewing from 9:00 – 11:00 am and funeral at 11:00 am. Interment at Oak Grove Cemetery immediately following the funeral with a repass at Shiloh following interment. Arrangements entrusted to Beals-Geake-Magliozzi Funeral Home, Medford, MA.