City of Oaks Funeral Home & Cremation

Obituary
Randolph Stuart Diuguid

Raleigh, North Carolina

Age 74.
Died 08/11/2023.

Randolph Stuart Diuguid
Randolph Stuart Diuguid “Randy” died on August 11, 2023, age 74 years. Born in Wilmington, North Carolina, on November 19, 1948, the son of Blanche Heyser Diuguid and Frank S. Diuguid, Jr., he grew up in Raleigh, was active in the Lutheran Church and in the Boy Scouts of America, achieved the rank of Eagle Scout, and graduated from Broughton High School in 1966. Randy was an avid reader. Beginning in his youth, he had a keen interest in theology and, particularly, the teachings of Martin Luther. He retained an intellectual curiosity throughout his life.

He attended ECU for one year prior to enlisting in the US Army. He trained as an aircraft mechanic and an air traffic controller before being selected for Army Flight School. In March 1969, he graduated as an officer and pilot, and was assigned to the 175th Assault Helicopter Company in Vinh Long, Vietnam, in the Mekong Delta. Randy flew over 1,082 flight hours in combat and was shot down by the North Vietnamese one mile from the Cambodian border in November 1969. After the war he served a year in Stuttgart, Germany, and returned home where he was decorated at Fort Bragg in May 1971 with the Bronze Star, the Air Medal for Heroism, and with the Army Commendation Medal for his war-time service and for the medical evacuation of wounded in Vietnam.

Randy flew with the NC National Guard while continuing his education at NCSU. For the next forty years, he continued in aviation, flying helicopters, turbo-props, and jets all over the globe. He believed in and helped pioneer the LifeFlight concept and spent a significant part of his life saving lives through helicopter medical evacuation. He also flew the SKY 5 TV helicopter from 1982 to 1984. He aided in the development of safe TV helicopters and the use of microwave, reporting from the cockpit, and filming from the air, as well as beaming local news nationally via satellite. In 1984, only five helicopters in TV news nationwide had this capability--SKY 5 was one of these.

Safety was his overriding concern, even at a time when the helicopter industry ran up the worst accident record in aviation history. His helicopter flying encompassed all uses of the helicopter. Trained as a test pilot, he spent five years as a pilot flying for offshore oil in the Gulf of Mexico; two years flying off a tuna fishing vessel in the South; fought forest fires in the West, and with the NC Forest Services in 1985; three years as a dedicated LifeFlight pilot; and two more years flying cardiac care LifeFlight—the highest level of helo-medical care. He was a Captain and Chief Test Pilot for the only helicopter airline in the world, Pan Am Helicopter Airways, flying over New York City. In 1986, he was the recipient of an Air Ambassador award for five consecutive life-saving LifeFlights in one day in Tampa, Florida. Overall, he logged over 8,800 flight hours without an accident.

Randy is survived by three brothers, Frank “Scot” Diuguid, III, of Bracey, Virginia; William H. Diuguid and Bruce D. Diuguid, both of Raleigh, North Carolina; and preceded in death by his brother Douglas T. Diuguid.

A graveside memorial service with full military honors will be held at Raleigh Memorial Park, Raleigh, North Carolina, on August 26, 2023, at 10:00 a.m. The attendance of veterans and other service members and the general public, in honor of this veteran’s service to our country, would be greatly appreciated.

For additional information or for service details, please reach out to the family directly.


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City of Oaks Cremation and Funeral Home is a full-service funeral home in Raleigh, serving all of North Carolina and beyond. We provide an alternative to costly funeral homes and every day we help families in Raleigh, Durham, Chapel Hill and all over North Carolina make simple, affordable funeral arrangements.

Simply having to reach out to a funeral home can feel overwhelming. Our goal is to simplify the entire funeral home experience and make the process as easy as possible. We hope to eliminate any unnecessary surprises by publishing our total cost and the services we provide directly on our website. All of our obituaries are provided free of charge as a way to help families celebrate and commemorate the lives of their loved ones.

Our Promise

Apples to Apples

Just like all other licensed funeral homes in North Carolina, City of Oaks Cremation, LLC is regulated by the NC Board of Funeral Service.


The same laws that apply to the big corporate funeral homes also apply to the modest independently owned firms like ours. All crematories in North Carolina, regardless of who owns them, are inspected annually by the state and must adhere to the same rules and laws.

Genuine Care

We're committed to providing families within our community unsurpassed service before, during and after the time of loss.


Our staff will provide clear communication to your family through each step as we move forward from the original phone call notifying us of a death to the time we deliver the urn back to your family. We will treat your family with the utmost respect, as we honor the wishes of your loved one.


We promise to make this process affordable and as endurable as possible.

State Wide

Our Funeral Home is located in Wake County NC; however, we provide our services to families throughout the entire State.


Unlike other funeral homes, we don't charge an additional mileage fee. Regardless of what county you live in, we can help your family with making simple, affordable funeral arrangements. From Asheville to Wilmington, we're proud to help families statewide.

Our Services

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Direct Cremation

$1196.75

Nobody likes surprise costs added in at the last minute. We guarantee you will not find any hidden charges here. We include everything you need for a simple or direct cremation. Simple, affordable and reliable. We have not changed the cost of our direct cremation service since we opened City of Oaks in 2012.

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Cremation with Solidified Remains

$2875.66

We offer the option of choosing how you receive your loved ones remains. Selecting our Direct Cremation with Solidified Remains option is a beautiful way to transform cremated remains into 40-60 “stones” that you can hold.

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Cremation with Visitation

$1917.84

City of Oaks Funeral Home and Cremation provides an affordable cremation option with onsite visitation. Nobody likes surprise costs added in at the last minute. We guarantee you will not find any hidden charges here. Simple, affordable and reliable.

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Immediate Burial

$2497.50

An immediate burial has the same end result as a traditional burial; however, we have eliminated the extra (sometimes unnecessary) services prior to getting to the cemetery. Not everyone wants an open casket for viewing or a limousine for the family. Despite the term immediate, we can move as fast as you need or as slow as you like. This option simply allows you to save money by eliminating some of the fancy extras at the funeral home.

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Traditional Funeral

$6081.48

We offer the same traditional funeral services as the big corporately owned funeral homes in the area; however, we cost about half the amount. You might consider a traditional funeral service if your family is looking for an open casket visitation, a traditional church service or a funeral service in the funeral home's chapel. A traditional funeral service can be altered to fit the needs of your family.

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Green Burial

$3033.75

This establishment is one of a select number of funeral homes who meet the criteria for providing green funeral service by the Green Burial Council; a tax-exempt, nonprofit organization working to encourage environmentally sustainability in the field of funeral service. Our Green options allow for a funeral to take place without the use of toxic and non-biodegradable materials/chemicals.

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Aquamation

$2640.59

As an alternative to traditional cremation, City of Oaks Funeral Home also offers Aquamation. The Aquamation process, often referred to as alkaline hydrolysis, uses a solution of water and potassium hydroxide to facilitate natural decomposition.

City of Oaks Funeral Home & Cremations