LARGER-THAN-LIFE KEY LARGO ANGLER, CONTRACTOR & VOLUNTEER PASSED IN FEBRUARY

Fisherman and contractor Doug Peel was able to fill a whole room with his presence, according to his family. CONTRIBUTED

Doug Peel was larger than life. A tall man, he would fill up a whole room, his family said. Also, he would never miss an opportunity to bust your chops — or to help you out. The boat captain, angler, contractor and community volunteer just couldn’t sit still. Despite all his responsibilities, he still found time to run the fish fry benefit for Key Largo school every year. 

“He will be severely missed,” his wife, Tina, emotionally told Keys Weekly. He passed away from a massive heart attack on Feb. 17 at the age of 56. 

“It’s like losing a member of our family,” said Darren Pais, the principal of Key Largo School. “He has been frying fish for KLS for at least 25 years. He was a great volunteer and wonderful father.”

“We didn’t expect this,” Tina said with disbelief. “He was getting better every day.”

Doug beat COVID in September. The family was scared for him, as he was in the hospital for 14 days. The Peels all came down with the illness at the same time in August — Doug, Tina, age 54, and their sons, Doug Jr., 26, and Kyle, 24. But Doug suffered the worst. It was so bad that he damaged his heart and didn’t know it. Doctors had told him that this was a possibility.

To the family’s concern, he threw himself into work and volunteer commitments and play just three weeks after getting out of the hospital, with only 55 percent lung capacity. He would hit the water on the weekends; work full-time during the week as a contractor in Miami for his company, Red Dot Construction, with his brother, Dennis; and enjoy projects like volunteering for the community or taking road trips in his Slingshot with Tina.

“You couldn’t get that guy to sit down and watch a movie,” said Doug Jr., with a laugh.

That was just Doug’s way. He was born in Coral Gables’ Doctors Hospital and worked at his father’s construction company after high school. He and Dennis eventually started their own contracting business, Red Dot.

Twenty-three years ago, with Tina, he moved to Key Largo, where they raised their sons. He also regularly attended fishing tournaments. In 1995, Doug entered the Pompano Beach Fishing Rodeo. Doug kept pointing out to his family that the number 30 was a harbinger of good fortune, as he had slip 30 in the 30th year of the event. He was right: He caught the most pounds of mahi mahi — and won $30,000 in cash and prizes.

But Key Largo was everything to Doug. “There’s no other place in the world he’d rather be in than Key Largo,” said son Kyle.

“He was truly a true example of what Key Largo is all about, and he loved the Keys with all his heart,” said his sister-in-law, Jeanette Peel.

If the community needed something, he was there. When son Doug Jr. was in sixth grade and got into the safety patrol for Key Largo School, Doug was asked to help organize the annual fish fry that is a benefit to raise money for the safety patrol’s trips to Washington, D.C. And he did it ever since. Known as the “Fish Fry King,” his last fish fry was Jan. 28. 

“He’s still at work with me every day,” said his brother, Dennis. “He’s watching over me, making sure I’m doing things right.”

A celebration of life for Doug Peel will be celebrated on Saturday, March 19, for close family and friends. He has been cremated and his remains will be placed in the ocean he loved so much.

Charlotte Twine fled her New York City corporate publishing life and happily moved to the Keys six years ago. She has written for Travel + Leisure, Allure, and Offshore magazines; Elle.com; and the Florida Keys Free Press. She loves her two elderly Pomeranians, writing stories that uplift and inspire, making children laugh, the color pink, tattoos, Johnny Cash, and her husband. Though not necessarily in that order.