Washington County Assistant Prosecuting Attorney Ray Dugger was found dead at his home on Main Street in New Matamoras Sunday.
There were no signs of foul play, officials said Sunday evening.
The 64-year-old's body was discovered by his wife, Judy, when she returned home from grocery shopping late Sunday afternoon, according to Washington County Sheriff Larry Mincks.
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Assistant Washington County Prosecutor Ray Dugger
He said Dr. Michael Brockett, acting county coroner, pronounced Dugger dead at the scene, and there was no sign of foul play.
"Marietta Municipal Court Judge Janet Dyar-Welch was among those shocked by the news.
"He was a fine man-well thought of throughout the legal community," she said Sunday evening.
Welch said she had heard Dugger was planning to retire later this year.
Washington County Prosecutor Jim Schneider said Dugger had notified him in February that he planned to retire in November.
"He was really looking forward to retirement," Schneider said, adding that he had just been with Dugger at a social function Saturday.
He said Dugger did have some medical issues.
"But we also attended men's camp together at Camp Hervida in July, and he seemed fine," Schneider said.
Dugger, from the Buffalo, N.Y. area, joined the prosecutor's office in October, 2004 and was the juvenile prosecutor for the county, but also handled numerous adult felony prosecutions.
"Ray received his law degree later in life, and at one time prior to that had a successful kitchen cabinet business," Schneider said. "He also worked as an attorney for the county Job and Family Services department for about eight years before we hired him in the prosecutor's office."
A U.S. Army veteran, Dugger served in Vietnam from 1967 through 1970.
He studied at the State University of New York in Buffalo, N.Y., and received his Juris Doctor of Law degree from Cleveland State University.
