Douglas Andrew Taulbee, departed this life and entered Heaven’s gates on June 17, 2026, in Wharton, TX. A visitation will be held at Bartley Memorial Chapel on Friday, June 26, 2026, from 6:00 to 8:00 PM. Funeral service will be held at Bartley Memorial Chapel on Saturday, June 27, 2026, at 11:30 AM with Brother Robert Malcolm, officiating. Interment will follow at Muleshoe Memorial Park. Funeral arrangements are under the supervision of Bartley Funeral Home. 

"Guests are encouraged to wear blue to the services in honor of Doug's favorite color."

Douglas was born on December 18, 1965, to Emerson Lee and Rosa Lee Taulbee in San Francisco, California.

Doug was a force who refused to be held back by any limitation. He completed the 8th grade and worked to support his family for years before earning his GED in his 20s.

The fifth of six children, he grew up following his father from job to job, learning everything there was to know about cars. With those skills, Doug and his brothers would collect bicycle and motorcycle parts as kids and use them to assemble homemade motor bikes. And when his father died unexpectedly in 1985, the tools he inherited became Doug’s most cherished possessions.

Inspired by the births of his children, he spent his 20s and 30s working tirelessly to better himself and his family. He worked as a long-haul trucker and would be on the road for days at a time. When the distance got to be too much, he went back to turning wrenches at Mackie’s in Plainview.

He labored, scrimped and saved until he had enough cash to fix up the first wrecker he ever owned in 1996. Twenty years later, Doug had escaped poverty, given his children a solid foundation, and built a small empire. Competition Towing was a shining achievement for him.

A born strategist, Doug had a knack for card games and board games, anything competitive and tactical. He had strong opinions about politics and current events, and Fox News was always on at his house. His deep love for all things automotive could not be outdone–whether old or new, buying, selling, or fixing–Doug likely had a hand in it.

Doug was a gentle soul who never turned down an opportunity to bounce a baby on his knee or take in a stray animal in need of a home. He was a devoted father, and when he became an empty nester, his dogs became the object of his affection. He loved to talk to people and share with them. Every time he loved a song, it appeared on someone’s text thread, his daughters or the grandkids–little treasures the family will keep forever.

Around Christmas 2009, Doug started teaching his son, Adam, to run a wrecker. Over the next decade, Adam learned everything there was to know about towing. Doug’s dreams and his past had come full-circle, and he was just about ready to hand the business over to Adam when he tragically passed away, while running the wrecker, in 2019. The highway was in their blood, and now they can share in that passion again.

Doug’s grandkids were his greatest pride and his favorite pass-time. From the time the twins were born in 2008 to his very last days, he would watch them (and film them) doing just about anything. He never missed a chance to give them a bite of whatever he was eating, gift them some toy or gadget he’d bought online the week before, or just take them to get their own.

The grandkids got to learn about Doug’s Appalachian routes when he took them all, along with his daughter Alesha, on a vacation to Dollywood, Graceland, to his childhood hometown in Ohio, and to his parents’ childhood region in Kentucky.

Those left to cherish his memory are his daughters, Alesha Garcia and husband, Jacob of Wharton, Texas, Alexa Lunsford and husband Eric of Lubbock, Texas; his son, Andrew Taulbee of Trenton, Ohio; his grandchildren, Ashlynn, Addison, Lane, and Jacirose of Wharton, Texas; his brothers Ronnie Taulbee of Lebanon, Ohio, and Junior Taulbee of West liberty Kentucky; and many nieces, nephews and friends.

Douglas is preceded in death by his son, Adam Taulbee; his parents, Emerson Lee and Rosa Lee Taulbee; his sisters, Marylin Taulbee and Margie Taulbee; and his brother, Scott Taulbee.

Doug was well-loved, and his life was well-lived. Now that he rests in his heavenly home, he will never be forgotten.