David Porter Tuggle
David Porter Tuggle passed peacefully into eternal life on Thursday, January 8, 2026.
Mr. Tuggle was a master cabinetmaker—a trade he plied for roughly 35 years—and a friend to many at the University of Tennessee at Chattanooga, where he worked for another 15 years. David had a love for books, music, agriculture, and people.
As a beloved husband, father, grandfather, brother, uncle, cousin, and friend, he will be remembered for his thoughtfulness, kindness, tenacity, patience and wise counsel, his exceptional memory and precision as a craftsman, and the purity of his grass fed beef raised on the family’s property in Bledsoe County, Tennessee.
Predeceased by his father and mother, George Robert Tuggle and Myrtle Elizabeth Mackey Tuggle, as well as by his daughter, Catherine Grace, and numerous beloved relatives, he is survived by his wife of 32 years, Lisa (née DeBoer); their daughter and son-in-law, Elizabeth and Dr. Hunter Vallejos; grandchildren, Benjamin, Catherine, and Madeleine Vallejos; his brother, Mark Douglas Tuggle and his wife Kristen; step-mother, Margaret White Tuggle; step-sisters, Sharon Daniels and Audrey Kaye Scoggins and their children; father-in-law, Edward DeBoer; brothers-in-law, Mike (Geraldine) and Dan (Sharon); sisters-in law, Diane (John), Cheryl (Ron), and Laurie (Brad); many cousins and numerous nieces and nephews.
His funeral Mass will be celebrated on Friday, January 16 at 12:30 p.m. (eastern time) at Saint Jude Catholic Church on Ashland Terrace in Chattanooga. Visitation precedes the funeral from 10:30 a.m. to 12:00 noon inside the sanctuary, followed by recitation of the Holy Rosary beginning at noon.
Burial will take place around 3:00 p.m. (eastern time) at the Tuggle Cemetery, where family and friends are invited to gather to share memories and celebrate his life.
Flowers may be sent to Ewton Funeral Home in Dunlap or to Saint Jude Church. (Please no lilies due to allergies). Alternatively, donations may be made c/o of Ewton Funeral Home for the upkeep of his beloved farm property with its rocks and rills, rivers and hills that were all so dear to him.
Ewton Funeral Home & Cremation Center is honored to be in charge of arrangements for Mr. David Porter Tuggle and ask that you share your memories and condolences for his family on its website at www.ewtonfuneralhome.com.
