James Albert HOGGARD

Dec 14, 1944 - Dec 3, 2003

Jim Hoggard ,58, of Conway, did many things in his lifetime - he was a mayor of Conway, owner of several successful businesses, a basketball and football official and Sunday School superintendent at his church. But Hoggard, who died Wednesday, December 3, 2003, is being remembered today not for all the things he did but for all the things he was. "He was a good man, he loved people, he was quick to smile and had a warm handshake," said the Rev. Bob Crossman, pastor of Grace United Methodist Church. Hoggard was Conway's mayor from 1975 to 1978. Prior to his gaining the mayoral seat, Hoggard was the owner of Hoggard's Men's Store at Front and Oak streets. Hoggard was 28 when he was elected Conway's mayor. In his "state of the city" report in 1977, Hoggard shared many successes of the city over the past year, such as reform movements in the police department, large amounts of street repairs, and efforts to enforce codes and clean up the city. He said at the time that he looked "forward to continued successes in the city's Community Development Program," which would provide water and sewer for citizens who had been relying on wells and septic tanks; the completion of a two-year study of the Conway Fire Department and its needs; and the implementation of a special census. Many of his 1977 goals were reported as having been completed in his 1978 "state of the city" report. After being defeated in the 1978 Democratic Preferential Primary by Bill Wright, Hoggard worked in real estate and as president of Clearwater Development Corp. in Hot Springs. In 1989, Hoggard moved to Jonesboro to work in the investment field. He worked both as an investment representative and as a manager. At the time of their move, Hoggard and his wife, Susan, said they hoped to someday return to Conway, which they did. For the past four years the family owned Jim Hoggard Investments on Harkrider Street. Hoggard said earlier this year that he felt he took the best of his experience as an investment representative and a manager to create a successful investment firm. In 1982, Hoggard unsuccessfully tried to unseat the man who had defeated him in 1978. During his 1982 campaign, Hoggard said he felt "the community needs a plan of strong leadership and direction," and that he had brought "a lot of good things to the community." To many of his closest friends, Hoggard was remembered as UCA's most loyal and fanatic fan. Harold Helton of Conway said Wednesday he had been friends with Hoggard since 1973. "I worked for the police department at the time, then a bunch of his friends got together and decided he should run for mayor. We became good friends from there." They started traveling together to UCA football games in about 1975, going to Saginaw Valley, Mich.; Portland, Ore., all the old AIC schools, Valdosta, Ga.; Maryville, Mo., Abilene Christian, West Texas A&M at Canyon and Nicholls (La.) State. "He was just purple through and through. He loved UCA and he would do anything for the school out there." Helton was stunned by Hoggard's death. "All of us can't believe it. He was always basically, it seemed, the picture of health and just enjoyed life, having friends around, entertaining at his home." Vance Strange, UCA's athletic director, said "We sat this season in his new Bear motorhome he had in the Purple Circle parking lot and talked about how many games he and (his wife) Susan had seen, 430-someodd. Such an unbelievable record of loyalty for the program. If he hadn't moved to Jonesboro, it would've been more than that, and she's not but four or five games behind him. "I'm just stunned. I saw him yesterday at lunchtime at Bob's Grill. It's not just a loss, it's just going to leave a void for a lot of reasons. He was the first young guy to take over and be mayor of Conway. That was a kind of a feat in itself. Everybody else was old Conway up until that. He was a good businessman, ran the clothing store, whatever he touched, and he touched a lot of lives. He was straight with people, and loyal, gosh, to a fault. He was loyal to those things that meant a great deal to him." UCA President Lu Hardin remembered that former Arkansas Gov. Orval Faubus used to regularly stop by and visit Hoggard on his way from Little Rock to Huntsville. "Jim had many, many friends and it is very simply a tragic and very unexpected loss. His and Susan's commitment to UCA was unparalleled, literally unparalleled. They drove to Valdosta this fall, which is a two-day drive. They decided not to fly." Former UCA football coach Ken Stephens, now at Ranger (Texas) College, said Hoggard "was one of the most loyal followers I ever had in my coaching career. If he was for you, he was for you win or lose. He stopped at Ranger to see me last summer, we were such good friends. I never will forget, we made four plane trips while I was coaching at UCA, to North Carolina, Reno, Las Vegas and Kingsville, Texas, and he and Susan were on the plane with the team on all four trips. He never missed a game the 10 years that I was at UCA, at home or away. That's an unbelievable record. If UCA ever had a loyal football fan, it was Jim Hoggard, and sometimes I don't think he was appreciated like he should've been. "I doubt that anyone will ever replace him with the record he had of attendance from the time he was a student at UCA in the '60s until now. What a loss for UCA football. But I know he will be remembered for a long time for what he did for UCA football." Hoggard was a stalwart volunteer in city and state circles. In 1978, he was named a life member of the Arkansas Municipal League, formerly served as president of the Arkansas Association of Development Organizations, an active member of the Conway Area Chamber of Commerce, Conway Board of Realtors, the University of Central Arkansas Purple Circle Club and the Faulkner County Historical Society. He was also a former member of the Central Arkansas Planning and Development District and was named to the Arkansas Policy Advisory Committee for Water Quality Management Planning in 1978. A graduate of Lonoke High School, Hoggard earned a bachelor of science degree from UCA. He was born in Lonoke on December 14, 1944 to the late James A. and Annie Lightfoot Hoggard. Survivors include his wife of 39 years, Susan S. Hoggard; a son, Jay Hoggard of Conway; daughters Misty Young of Mt. Vernon, Cherish Hoggard of Little Rock, Hillary Simmons of Mt. Vernon, and Haven Hoggard of Little Rock; seven grandchildren; and sisters, Peggy Keller of Lonoke, and Betty Keller of Lake Village. A memorial service will be held at 2:00 p.m. on Saturday, December 6, 2003 at Grace United Methodist Church with Dr. Robert Crossman officiating.

Contributed on 9/2/16 by hawkinsdonna
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