CHARLOTTE — To his family and friends, Doug Lebda was many things, but the title he loved most was father.
“My dad was the most incredible man I’ve ever known and I’m the luckiest girl in the world to get to call him my dad,” said Doug’s daughter Rachel.
Doug was a husband and a father to three girls and at his memorial service, his daughters Abby and Rachel shared the man they loved through tears.
“As for the three of us, don’t worry dad,” Abby said. “We have each other now, and I know you’re proud of us.”
Doug was a brilliant businessman. He founded LendingTree in the mid-90s.
Today, the company is worth 3/4 of a billion dollars. Former North Carolina Gov. Pat McCrory is on the board and his friendship to Doug goes back 30 years.
“He was brilliant,” McCrory said. “His beautiful mind could not stop coming up with new ideas to new solutions. It never stopped searching for new insights.”
McCrory said Doug’s instincts guided the company through the housing crisis in 2009.
“I miss my fishing buddy, I miss the worst golf partner ever,” said Brent Beason, a close friend. “The world might measure Doug’s life by what he built, but we know better. Doug’s real legacy is eternal.”
Doug died in an ATV accident last Sunday on his family farm in Polk County.
“I know deep in my soul that he will be in every sunset painted in the sky, every wave that crosses my bow, every shooting star in the dead of the night, every dance in the clouds in the distant horizon and every gust of wind in my sails,” Abby said.
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