Donald John Nugent, Jr.

Donald J. Nugent Jr., 73, of Forest, Virginia, passed away Thursday, October 8th, 2026, after a long battle with cancer. He was a loving and devoted husband, father, and grandfather.

Donald was born and raised in Nassau County of New York’s Long Island. With an early passion for hard work and entrepreneurship, he started making and selling pottery at the age of ten. His first car was a Plymouth Barracuda, the second a Pontiac GTO. He graduated from Dowling College and began working his dream job at Northport Marine Center where he met his wife, Deborah.

Deborah shared his entrepreneurial spirit, and together they bought an old farm and built a house with “their own hands.” In 1994, they fell in love with central Virginia and relocated to a “fixer-upper.” The community best knows him as ‘Donald’ from Donald’s Bagels and Bites, which served Lynchburg during an age when a sandwich and a drink still cost less than $5.

At home he enjoyed self-sufficient living – gardening, canning, non-electric versions of modern appliances. And fires. The only acceptable form of heat was from crackling flames.

Donald was preceded in death by his parents, Donald and Dorothy (Tagliaferri) Nugent, his wife Deborah (Fischer) Nugent, and his sister-in-law Catherine Fischer.

He is survived by his four children, William (Elizabeth), Linda (Nicholas), Dorothy (Ryan), and Donny; grandchildren Scarlett, Harrison, James, Henry, and Claire; sister-in-law Susan (Fischer) Baud; nieces and nephew Laetitia, Damien, Allison, and Cassandra; and his cat Velcro.

Visitation will be on Wednesday, October 14th from 6:00 to 8:00 in the evening at Tharp Funeral Home in Lynchburg. The following day, Thursday, October 15th, at 2:00 PM, we will gather at Virginia Memorial Park for the graveside service.

Tharp Funeral Home & Crematory, Lynchburg, is serving the family.