HIGH POINT, N.C. — For the first time since his passing, we're hearing from Dr. Joe L. Dudley Sr.'s family.
His name is synonymous with entrepreneurship and philanthropy as he was the co-founder of Dudley Hair Care.
Today his family shares his legacy with you.
Dr. Joe L. Dudley, Sr. died peacefully in his home, the family announced in a statement Thursday.
His daughter, Ursula Dudley said his legacy will forever remain and it all started with 10 dollars and a passion to start a business.
"The most important piece is where he started and that's in Brooklyn, New York, with Mr. SP Fuller and Fuller products, and he took $10, bought a sales kit, and his life changed, ever since then," said Ursula Dudley Oglesby, Joe Dudley Sr.'s daughter.
Joe Dudley, Sr. and his wife, Eunice, founded Dudley Hair Care in 1967.
The couple decided to open a business in Greensboro after going to college at North Carolina A&T State University (NC A&T).
"The next big thing, of course, was meeting my mother. The two of them formed a partnership and a marriage at the same time and then moved to Greensboro to start their own distributorship. We started selling products in beauty salons and barber shops as well and things really started booming," said Oglesby.
In 1976, Dudley and his wife moved to Chicago with their kids so their father could become president of Fuller Products and understand the manufacturing side of the business.
After that, the family moved back to Greensboro and that's where things began booming.
The company grew and now distributes hair and personal care products all around the world.
"My father was such a visionary. He and my mother as partners made such a tremendous impact and had so many ideas. I mean, we had the beauty schools, we had the advanced school, we had a travel agency, a radio station, a hotel, you know if they thought about it, they made it happen," said Oglesby.
Oglesby said her father's passion never went away. That passion is what he put into his three kids.
"He really instilled in me, and all of us, a great work ethic. He taught us the value of work, but he also taught us the value of being kind to people and meeting them where they are, and seeing them more than what they saw in themselves. One thing that my father always said is in our time and in our space, and with the grace of God, you and I can make a difference and he always told us and anybody else that if you're having trouble, if you're excited about something, if you need that extra boost to say 'I am, I can, and I will'," said Oglesby.
She said that he influenced and encouraged hundreds of people to become entrepreneurs.
"My father always told us he said, you know, what I want is to leave a legacy that goes on beyond my lifetime," said Oglesby.
Dudley knew it not only took hard work and determination to get the business off the ground but knew it took a team too.
"He was so proud and so grateful for everything. His legacy is he's got three children who are entrepreneurs. I run this business. My sister has multiple businesses, my brother has his own business and it's not just us. There are people all over the world who are in business because of my father and my mother and that is what excited him the most and you know, he can rest easy now because he knows that everything is going to be okay. And that he has truly let a world where everything is better because of him," Oglesby said.
The funeral will be held at 10 a.m. Monday, Feb. 19 at Mt. Zion Church in Greensboro.
"It will be on Presidents Day to honor our president," she said.
It will be open to the public.