Frank Stephen Hoag Jr. ’31

Frank, retired editor and publisher of the Pueblo Chieftain, died July 24, 1989, at Mary-Corwin Hospital, Pueblo, Colo. His career with the Chieftain and its sister publication, the Star Journal, spanned nearly 60 years. Following his graduation, he was on local and legislative beats for three years prior to his assignment to Washington, D.C., as a correspondent.

There he met and married his wife of 54 years, LaVert. He succeeded his father as editor and publisher until his retirement in 1980.

Throughout his long newspaper career, Frank maintained a strong involvement in community and state affairs. He was particularly committed to higher education. He was one of the founders of Pueblo Junior College in 1933, and played a major role in nurturing the two-year school into the four-year college now known as the Univ. of Southern Colorado.

Its campus music hall was dedicated in his name in recognition of his contributions. In 1965, he was awarded the first doctor of letters degree conferred by Southern Colorado State College.

Frank's competence was recognized well beyond the publishing field and brought him such honors as appointment by the governor to the Commission on Higher Education, Colorado Citizen of the Year, member and former chairman of the State Chamber of Commerce, elevation to the Greater Pueblo Sports Hall of Fame, and service with the Colorado Water Conservancy District.

Surviving Frank are his widow Verta, nephew Robert H. Rawlings, and a sister, Mrs. Dorothy Rawlings. To them we express our sympathy for the loss of a life so committed to others and to causes for which he will long be remembered.

The Class of 1931