Charles Tuggle Obituary, Death – Dr. Charles T. Tuggle, III, 40, passed away early on December 29th, 2022. Dr. Tuggle, known as Ty to his family, friends, and colleagues, was Vera’s beloved husband; the father of son Alexander and the soon-to-be father of daughter Mila; the son of Charles and Jean Tuggle of Memphis, TN; and the brother of William (Miranda) of Atlanta, GA and Mary (Russell) of New York, NY. Dr. Tuggle attended Christian Brothers High School in Memphis and the University of Georgia, where he was awarded the Foundation Fellowship, the university’s top academic award.
After graduating summa cum laude, Phi Beta Kappa, and first in his class in Biochemistry, he spent a year at Kyoto University of Foreign Studies, where he learned Japanese and fell in love with Japanese culture. Ty then attended Yale Medical School and graduated with honors. He then completed a residency in Plastic and Reconstructive Surgery at Yale New Haven Hospital, as well as a fellowship year in Reconstructive Hand Surgery at the Curtis National Hand Center in Baltimore.
Ty began his career after Curtis at LSU Health Sciences Center, where he had recently been promoted to Associate Professor, with intentions to establish a world-class hand program in New Orleans, a city he quickly fell in love with. Ty chose reconstructive hand surgery as a specialty as a plastic surgeon because of the surgical complexity and challenges it entailed, as well as the opportunity it provided to help patients who worked with their hands regain their self-reliance, dignity, and worth.
Ty recognized beauty and purpose in restoring the functionality of other people’s hands through his own labors. He also enjoyed children and found great fulfillment in his work at New Orleans’ Children’s Hospital. Ty was born to be a surgeon, carrying on the legacy of his grandfather, Dr. Matthew Wood, and uncle, Dr. Matthew Wood.
Dr. Tuggle was a Fellow of the American College of Surgeons, a member of the American Society of Plastic Surgeons and the American Society for Surgery of the Hand, a medical author with numerous publications, and a member of the University of Georgia’s “40 under 40” class of 2020.
Despite his tremendous successes and potential future, Ty waged a courageous two-year battle with brain cancer. Throughout his eighteen-month battle, he continued to use his remarkable surgical skills to help those in need, even after undergoing brain surgery and chemotherapy treatments.
When asked why he kept working long, hard hours instead of following his personal interests, he always replied that the purpose of life is found in the voluntary adoption of duty, which for him was to enhance the lives of others. Ty traveled extensively, studied Japanese, excelled in many of the most difficult treatments in hand surgery, loved his family, married the woman of his dreams, and died with dignity. He leaves behind a bereaved but incredibly proud family.