Raymond Ralph Dunagin Jr. (June 19, 1937 – June 24, 2020) was an American cartoonist for the ''

Orlando Evening Star The ''Orlando Sentinel'' is the primary newspaper of Orlando, Florida, and the Central Florida region. It was founded in 1876 and is currently owned by Tribune Publishing Company. The ''Orlando Sentinel'' is owned by parent company, ''Tribune Pu ...

'' and the ''

Orlando Sentinel The ''Orlando Sentinel'' is the primary newspaper of Orlando, Florida, and the Central Florida region. It was founded in 1876 and is currently owned by Tribune Publishing Company. The ''Orlando Sentinel'' is owned by parent company, '' Tribune P ...

'' from 1961 to 2001. He was a finalist for the

Pulitzer Prize The Pulitzer Prize () is an award for achievements in newspaper, magazine, online journalism, literature, and musical composition within the United States. It was established in 1917 by provisions in the will of Joseph Pulitzer, who had made h ...

twice.

Early life and education

Dunagin was born in Hattiesburg, Mississippi. He graduated from Petal High School in 1955 and then attended

Pearl River Community College Pearl River Community College is a public community college in Poplarville, Mississippi. It was founded as Pearl River County Agricultural High School in 1909 and became the first junior college in Mississippi in 1921. Residents of Hancock, F ...

.Quinnelly, Lorrie J
"Petal High graduates get sent to Hall today"
''

Hattiesburg American The ''Hattiesburg American'' is a U.S. newspaper based in Hattiesburg, Mississippi, that serves readers in Forrest, Lamar, and surrounding counties in south-central Mississippi. The newspaper is owned by Gannett. History The ''Hattiesburg ...

'', Hattiesburg, Mississippi, volume 98, number 146, May 26, 1994, City/State section, page 5A. He served in the

United States Marine Corps The United States Marine Corps (USMC), also referred to as the United States Marines, is the maritime land force service branch of the United States Armed Forces responsible for conducting expeditionary and amphibious operations through combi ...

. After serving in the Marine Corps, he went to

University of Southern Mississippi The University of Southern Mississippi (Southern Miss or USM) is a public research university with its main campus located in Hattiesburg, Mississippi. It is accredited by the Southern Association of Colleges and Schools to award bachelor's, ma ...

Career

He spent about 40 years as the art director and editorial cartoonist for the ''Orlando Sentinel'' as well as an editorial board member. He also created the

comic strip A comic strip is a sequence of drawings, often cartoons, arranged in interrelated panels to display brief humor or form a narrative, often serialized, with text in balloons and captions. Traditionally, throughout the 20th and into the 21st ...

s '' Dunagin's People'' and ''

Grin and Bear It ''Grin and Bear It'' is a former daily comic panel created by George Lichtenstein under the pen name George Lichty. Lichty created ''Grin and Bear it'' in 1932 and it ran 83 years until 2015, making it the 10th-longest-running comic strip in Amer ...

''. He and

Dana Summers Dana Summers is an American editorial cartoonist and comic strip creator, whose work is syndicated by Tribune Content Agency. His editorial cartoons are published in the ''Orlando Sentinel'', usually reflecting a conservative opinion. He also c ...

, another ''Sentinel'' cartoonist who worked with him for 30 years, worked together on the comic strip ''

The Middletons ''The Middletons'' is an American comic strip created by Ralph Dunagin and Dana Summers. The strip debuted on November 3, 1986, in the Orlando Sentinel. Originally distributed by News America Syndicate, it moved to North America Syndicate in 1987 ...

''. Dunagin was called a "southern gentleman" and his obituary called has work "witty, relatable drawings." He had

Parkinson's disease Parkinson's disease (PD), or simply Parkinson's, is a long-term degenerative disorder of the central nervous system that mainly affects the motor system. The symptoms usually emerge slowly, and as the disease worsens, non-motor symptoms becom ...

and

vascular dementia Vascular dementia (VaD) is dementia caused by problems in the supply of blood to the brain, typically a series of minor strokes, leading to worsening cognitive abilities, the decline occurring piecemeal. The term refers to a syndrome consisting ...

when he died at 83 in 2020 in

Houma, Louisiana Houma ( ) is the largest city in, and the parish seat of, Terrebonne Parish in the U.S. state of Louisiana. It is also the largest principal city of the Houma– Bayou Cane–Thibodaux metropolitan statistical area. The city's government ...

References

1937 births 2020 deaths People from Orlando, Florida American cartoonists Artists from Mississippi Deaths from vascular dementia Pearl River Community College alumni People from Hattiesburg, Mississippi United States Marines University of Southern Mississippi alumni {{Florida-bio-stub