Douglas C. Fleming ’99 died on July 16, 2005, in Black Rock Desert, Nevada.
(The following was provided by family)
Douglas Codere Fleming, 27 years old, a successful entrepreneur and long-distance cyclist, died July 16, 2005, of natural causes in the Black Rock Desert of Nevada.
Born August 19, 1977 in Hinsdale, Illinois, he grew up in Hinsdale and later lived in New York, San Francisco and Los Angeles before moving to Reno, Nevada, in 2004. As a young boy, he was energetic and ready to take on any challenge. Douglas was instrumental in advancing the awareness of clean air in local schools that later helped drive legislation to improve the environment in school districts across Illinois. He was a Valedictorian of Fenwick High School, Oak Park, Illinois; a 1999 cum laude graduate of Bowdoin College in Brunswick, Maine; and a graduate of the Amos Tuck School of Business Bridge Program at Dartmouth College. Upon graduation, he worked for JPMorgan Chase as an investment-banking analyst and was later Vice President of Finance for PetaLogic Corporation, a designer and developer of high-speed optical interconnects. Subsequent to PetaLogic, his entrepreneurial spirit fully emerged. Douglas was a principal at Worldwide Capital and later a founding partner of IN3 Partners, Inc., an investment bank that specializes in the needs of communications and optics companies. He was also the founder of Radio-Info.com, a Web site devoted to broadcast news and information, reaching 250,000 people each month. In addition, he was the co-developer of a U.S. patent for interactive wireless telecommunications.
Besides being a successful entrepreneur, he was an avid bicyclist who participated in many long-distance endurance races. Douglas loved to ride his bicycle for miles and miles and he would often say, “I think I will take a quick 50-60 mile ride . . . just to unwind.” Douglas loved living in Reno due to its mountains and outdoor lifestyle. He was quick to tell anyone the many reasons to live there, including the 2-for-1 buffet coupons!
Douglas was a loving individual and a person of integrity. He was also tenacious and determined to defy all odds. As an infant, he built block structures that seemed to defy gravity. As a young adult, he absorbed the world around him with passion and fought for a cleaner, more chemically free environment. Douglas always had stories to tell, vividly sharing experiences that most of us could only imagine. He positively impacted many people and accomplished more during his short worldly experience than most of us will in a lifetime. His legacy is held in the hearts of those he touched.
Surviving are his sister, Petria Fleming, his parents, Richard and Diana Fleming, and his grandmothers, Alberta Loane and Elizabeth Fleming. Also surviving are his uncles and aunts, David Fleming, Linda Fleming, David and Pat Farrelly, and Richard and Holly Looney, his great aunt, Helen Codere, and his cousins, Dawn Fleming, Marcia Bisel, Michele Norton, Shawna Kilbert, Brittany Farrelly, Shelby Booker, Russell Looney and Reanna Looney.