Samuel Rutherford Hogue

Samuel Rutherford Hogue, age 79, passed away peacefully in his home in Bella Vista, Arkansas on August 9th, 2023. Sam, known to his family as S.R., was born in Kansas City, Missouri on October 18, 1943. He grew up in Springhill, Kansas, where he made many lifetime friends. He continued to make lifetime friends throughout his education and professional career. Sam was dedicated to academic excellence and was a graduate of Kansas State University, Manhattan where he was a member and officer of Alpha Tau Omega fraternity. Sam joined the Navy and Peace Corp where he discovered his love for teaching as a Navy instructor for construction drafting and other courses. He later taught Landscape Architecture at Mississippi State University. Sam was so admired and respected by his students that he received praise from them throughout his life. Sam became the campus designer. Of all his great accomplishments during his professional career, he was most proud of his work on Mississippi State University Foundation Legacy Project. Knowledge was his core value and Sam was a great admirer of history, art, photography, flowers and landscapes, architecture, luxury cars, and travels. He relished traveling and touring with friends and family. Anyone who traveled with Sam was in for a real treat as he would have studied the area in detail and was better than any tour guide. He absolutely loved the south. He spent much of his retirement years creating a beautiful home garden and he made regular visits to Crystal Bridges where his first loves of art, gardens, and architecture were on full display. He continued to travel to places like Cambodia and his favorite, Singapore, until his health would no longer allow it. S.R. was preceded in death by his parents, Norris and Wilma Hogue, and his sister and brother-in-law, Lorelli and Jack Cracraft. Left to honor his memory are his nephews, Sam Cracraft (wife Anita), Joe Cracraft (wife Tresa), and Mike Cracraft (wife Michele). S.R. also had three great nieces and nephews, Dylan Cracraft (wife Jacci), Briana Garcia (husband A.J.), and Jack Cracraft. There are seven great-great nieces and nephew, Brielle, Briley, Vera, and Lincoln Garcia and Landri, Lyla Belle, and Hartley Samuel Cracraft. The family wishes to thank his wonderful neighbors, Ted and Julie Lasher, and his forever friends, especially Lannie Zweimiller, for their continued support during Sam’s battle with pancreatic cancer. Also, many thanks to Circle of Life for the tremendous home hospice care and Comfort Keepers for their tireless dedication to us during the last weeks of life. Sam requested no service but wanted to be remembered as a person that “made a difference”. In lieu of flowers, memorial gifts may be made to the Samuel R. Hogue Memorial Fund in the Mississippi State University Foundation, P.O. Box 6149, Mississippi State, MS 39762. Donations to Circle of Life can also be made by using www.giftstocircle.org

Samuel Rutherford Hogue

October 18, 1943 - August 9, 2023