In Memory of

Doug Campbell III, age 72, passed away on Tuesday September 2nd, 2025 at his home in Stamford, CT with his wife and kids at his side, after a courageous four-year battle with ALS. He went peacefully thanks to an abundance of love and support from family and friends and because he was able to watch the University of Michigan football team win their first game of the season a few days prior.

Doug was born on March 6th, 1953, at the Henry Ford Hospital in Detroit. Raised in nearby Grosse Pointe Farms, he was the son of the late Douglas Campbell Jr. and the late Elizabeth MacColl Campbell. He attended the Grosse Pointe University School, and the Hotchkiss School (‘71). A year later, on his first road trip to the west coast, an invite to a family wedding in Portland, OR proved very consequential, as it’s where he met the love of his life, Gwynne (MacColl) Campbell.

Doug attended the University of New Hampshire, completing a BA in Spanish and International Relations (Class of 1975). After graduating from UNH, Doug joined one of his professors to co-author “Major Issues of the Law of the Sea,” used widely as a textbook for decades by universities from Harvard to Johns Hopkins. Following this time, he completed an internship at the State Department, consulted at the United Nations in NYC, and worked with the US Congress Office of Technology Assessment in DC to implement and regulate the 200 mile fishing zone. Next he moved to Alexandria, VA where he started a weekly newspaper.

In 1978, Doug proposed to Gwynne in Cestre Levante, Italy and they married on Cape Cod a year later. Shortly after, the two moved to Charlottesville, VA, for Doug’s enrollment at the University of Virginia’s Darden School in 1980 to earn his MBA. Following graduation, they moved to Stamford, CT and Doug joined the corporate world at Champion International. The couple relocated to Darien in 1983, where they resided for the next 35 years, opening the first Sylvan Learning Center on the east coast, providing comprehensive after-school tutoring and test prep for students of all ages.

During this time, Doug developed a passion to help business leaders achieve strategic goals, think outside of the box, and have a good work-life balance. In 1995 Doug founded The Success Coach and for 30 years he coached CEOs and top executives and their teams to reach higher levels of success, tapping his skills in business and as a member of The National Speaker’s Association. Always dedicated to coaching young people, in either sports or business, Doug taught MBA marketing and entrepreneurship for two decades at Sacred Heart and Fairfield University. In 2019, he helped launch and co-hosted the Stamford Ferguson Library’s Entrepreneur-in-Residence Program, a free on-line and in-person coaching program for local entrepreneurs to improve their businesses and share their experiences with other innovators.

Doug served on many local and impactful boards, including the Darien Chamber of Commerce, Communities Health Charities, the Darien Men’s Association, The Darien Land Trust, The Hotchkiss Alumni Board of Directors and CT’s Angel Investment Forum. From 1998 to 2014, Doug ran monthly breakfast meetings for groups of “High Talent Creatives”, usually featuring a pitch from an innovative, emerging local company that then garnered feedback from accomplished local businesspeople. Through his coaching, speaking, and many case studies and learnings, Doug was inspired to write and self-publish two business books: “Where To Go From Here: Reinventing your Business and Your Career;” and “The 16-28 Solution: Unleash the Passions of Your Youth.”

But what made Doug most proud was the family he and Gwynne raised. His son Colin and wife Tara Craft (Arlington, VA) have two daughters, Alma and Chloe. His daughter Caroline and husband Robert Dickie (Melbourne, AUS) have two sons, Brooks and Miller. Colin works in sales and entrepreneurial brand building and Caroline works in leadership development and coaching, both occupations inspired by much of Doug’s varied career. Doug is also survived by his two brothers, Dwight (La Canada, CA) and Duncan (Grosse Pointe, MI) and their families.

Doug was a longtime member of Noroton Presbyterian Church where he served on the Missions Board and co-founded a multi-denominational men’s bible study group, now well into its 18th year. With the Fairfield Country Micro Investor’s Council, Doug also helped establish micro lending initiatives in Ecuador and El Salvador, completing 16 trips to the countries to meet with and coach business owners, always using his Spanish as much as he could.

Doug also loved coaching his kids, Colin & Caroline, on their youth ice hockey and baseball/softball rec teams. A lifelong golfer, fisher, biker, ice skater, and swimmer, Doug loved his sports, incessantly rooting for University of Michigan, UVA, all four of Detroit’s professional teams, and CT’s beloved Whalers. Doug was always competitive with a good attitude, and also relished his billiards, backgammon, and yard games. On the links, Doug served for several years as the head coach of Wilton High School’s golf team, winning the county championship and placing third in the state in his final year at the helm. An avid outdoorsman, Doug spent many summers camping and hiking alongside Lake Superior in Michigan’s Upper Peninsula, and continued to enjoy the outdoors and the beach at the shared family house in Matunuck, RI.

An avid & curious traveler, Doug studied in Madrid and lived in Caracas for three months in his youth and took the family on trips to Mexico & the Carribean, Italy & France, England & Scotland, South Africa & Botswana, Morocco & Spain, and more. In later years, he and Gwynne planned wonderful trips to other areas of Europe and visits to his kids living in Australia and the Middle East.

In early 2022, Doug was diagnosed with Amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS) and vowed to fight the terminal illness with positivity, science, humor, and diligence, while staying active and inspirational in the business community and with his family and friends up until the very end. The incredible amount of support and consistent visits and calls by so many dear friends, especially when he was no longer able to leave the house or his wheelchair, meant the world to his family. Doug cherished his four grandchildren and loved playing tickle monster, chess, taboo, and watching them create art, build structures, meet animals at the Stamford Nature Center, and search for the golden egg at the family’s annual Easter Egg Hunt.

With scores of Sylvan alumni, along with his many MBA students and entrepreneurial and business coachees still in the area, the Doug Campbell legacy of service, learning, community, and creativity will live on for many years. A memorial service and reception will be held on Friday Sept 26th at 11:00am at the Noroton Presbyterian Church in Darien. In lieu of flowers, donations can be sent to ALS United Connecticut (4 Oxford Road, Suite E4 Milford, CT 06460, www.alsunitedct.org) or the Darien Land Trust (5 Brook St. Darien, CT 06820, https://darienlandtrust.org). https://lawrencefuneralhome.co...