Doug S. Tallent

He was born in Burningtown, a rural mountain community in Macon County and grew up in Franklin, NC. The middle child of Samuel Paul Tallent and Annie (Anne) Will Huggins, he enjoyed a childhood playing with his siblings at the family’s home on Womack Street and spending time with his cousins at the Fouts’ farm in Cowee, NC. In the summers, he would caddy at the Franklin Golf Course where he was affectionately known as “Tiger.” He spent many afternoons during his senior year of high school at Perry’s Drug Store on Main Street in downtown Franklin. It was here he met the love of his life, Martha Perry. Wearing his yellow button-down shirt and blue jeans, he worked up the courage to ask her out. Theirs is a love story that lasted over 53 years.

After graduating Franklin High School in 1965, he started his college education at Western Carolina University before being drafted to serve in Vietnam. A proud member of the 28th Infantry Black Lions and a Sergeant with the 1st Infantry Division, he completed one tour of duty from July 1967 to July 1968 which included the Battle of Ong Thanh and the Tet Offensive. His platoon’s story can be read in, “They Marched Into Sunlight” by the Pulitzer Prize winning author, David Maraniss, for which Doug was a contributor. While in Vietnam, he maintained his relationship with Martha through countless letters and they married at First United Methodist Church in Franklin in July 1972. He finished his college education at Western Carolina and began life with Martha, briefly teaching high school history in Cumming, GA and building homes in Franklin, NC with Claude Welch.

In 1975, he began a lifelong career in banking. With over 36 years in retail banking, he worked for First Union and First Citizens Bank in both Franklin and Asheville. He retired from First Citizens in 2011 as a Senior Vice President Retail Banking Manager. He made many enduring friendships with both his colleagues and his clients.

Doug was a loving family man and a devoted father to his two sons, Josh and Joseph. Whether attending a soccer game, a school performance, or giving life advice, Doug was his sons’ biggest cheerleader. He encouraged his sons to appreciate the outdoors through his stories and time spent together camping, fishing, and taking family trips to Holden Beach, a tradition his sons have carried forward with their own families.

Doug valued his family’s history and loved sharing stories of the past. He was dedicated to caring for his parents and siblings and prioritized his sons’ relationships with their grandparents and relatives.

Doug had an affinity for the British car maker, Triumph, from the mid-1980s on. Starting in 1985, there was always a Triumph parked in Doug’s garage. After his sons were in bed, he could be found tinkering with his 1965 Spitfire or his ’69 TR6 many evenings. Most recently, you may have seen him zipping around North Asheville in his Burgundy GT6.

While in retirement, Doug continued to support his community by serving on several non-profit boards. He spent more than twenty years with ABCCM and six years with Meals on Wheels, to name a few. He was a trustee of Asbury Methodist Church, where he was a member for nearly forty years. Doug enjoyed weekly rounds of golf, walking the many public courses in and around Asheville with his dear friend, John Stewart.

A lifelong learner, Doug enjoyed tackling home and landscape projects. This became an even greater source of satisfaction in his later years, as he took great pride working in and cultivating his yard, including adding a koi pond, which he lovingly maintained as a retirement hobby.

In retirement, he and Martha pursued their love of travel and culture, embarking on river cruises through Germany, taking in the Alps in Switzerland, and standing before Saint Basil’s Cathedral on Moscow’s Red Square.

In later life, he also took great joy in having more time to spend with his three grandchildren: Ben, Helen Kate, and Louise. When his grandchildren were little, they spent many afternoons after school perched on Doug’s lap listening to him read their favorite stories.

In 2021, Doug was diagnosed with Multiple System Atrophy that the VA believed was linked to Agent Orange exposure during his time in Vietnam. Doug met this condition the way he did with any challenge life threw his way: with positivity, courage and grace.

Doug is survived by his wife of over 53 years, Martha; his sons, Josh (Liz) and Joseph (Lu); his grandchildren, Ben, Helen Kate, and Louise; his sisters, Linda Ownbey and Debbie Tallent; his brothers, Sammy and Jerry; and many nieces and nephews.

The family wishes to express their sincere gratitude for the compassionate care Doug received from Lindsay Livengood and her team of nurses and CNAs at A New Hope Home Care. The family is also indebted to Kierrah Wilson of Four Seasons for her care during Doug’s final months.

A celebration of Doug’s life will be held Saturday, February 21st, 2026, at 11:00 AM at Asbury Memorial United Methodist Church in Asheville with Rev. Jeff McCumber officiating. Interment will follow at Woodlawn Cemetery in Franklin, NC at 2:00 PM.

In lieu of flowers, donations may be made to the Asheville Buncombe Community Christian
Ministry or Meals on Wheels of Asheville & Buncombe County.