Biography: Thomas Robert (Tom) Pugh, Sr., of Portland and Little Rock, died Wednesday, July 24^th in the Palliative Care Unit of the Central Arkansas Veterans Healthcare System.  He was born April 20, 1930, into a pioneering Arkansas family settling Ashley County in 1850.  He was named after his grandfather, an agricultural business leader in southeast Arkansas, who was also a close friend and benefactor of North Little Rock developer Justin Matthews.  Mr. Matthews constructed, and then dedicated as a gesture of their friendship, T.R. Pugh Memorial Park (The Old Mill) in North Little Rock in 1933.
 
Tom was a 1948 graduate of the Baylor School in Chattanooga, Tennessee.  He attended the University of Arkansas at Fayetteville, where he was a member of Sigma Chi Fraternity.  He was a veteran of the United States Air Force, a member of Portland United Methodist Church, and attended First United Methodist Church in Little Rock.  He served as Director of the Worthen Banking Corporation; Chairman of the Bank of Parkdale; Chairman of Delta Trust and Bank; Chairman of the Farm Equipment Company (Arkansas Ag), comprising multiple John Deere dealerships; Chairman of the Arkansas Game & Fish Commission; President of the Portland Cemetery Organization; and President of the Portland Hunting Club located on Caulk Island in the Mississippi River.  He was a cotton ginner and owned farmland in southeast Arkansas.  Tom’s recreational pursuits included time on the beach, flying airplanes, reading, and camping/hunting with friends on Caulk Island.  He cherished every moment with his family and received great pleasure from personal relationships facilitated through his association with Baylor School, Sigma Chi, the Arkansas Game & Fish Commission, and his business pursuits.
 
He is preceded in death by his parents, Gus and Evelyn Newman Pugh; brother Gus (Buddy) Pugh, Jr. in 1936; brother George Pugh, Sr. in 2015; his wife and the mother of his children, Elsie Silverman, in 1988; and his wife Susie Ingram Hogan in 2018.
 
He is survived by his brother, Augustus (Bubba) Pugh of Lake Village; his children, Tom Pugh, Jr. (Cindy) of Little Rock and Frank Pugh (Melissa) of Portland; stepchildren Miles Hogan, Maggie Hogan, and Dan Hogan, all of Little Rock; his grandchildren, Robert Pugh (Ashley) and Stephanie Pugh Smith (Tom), both of Lake Village, and Elsie and Jaclyn Pugh, both of Little Rock; his great-grandson Gus Smith of Lake Village; his nephew Leyden Pugh (Jan) of Lake Village; his nieces Becky Pugh (Dean Jabs) of Bethesda, Maryland, and Susie Pugh Tackett (Jim) of Greenwood, Mississippi; and the many step-grandchildren he was blessed to know and love.  The family wishes to thank the wonderful and devoted caregivers at Fox Ridge Assisted Living Community in Little Rock, the Arkansas State Veterans Home (Hero Home 7 & 8) in North Little Rock, and Arkansas Hospice. Memorials may be made to the Portland Cemetery, P.O. Box 51, Portland, AR 71663, Portland United Methodist Church, or Arkansas Hospice Foundation.
 
There will be a visitation for family and friends in Little Rock on Tuesday,July  30^th from 4 to 6 p.m. at Ruebel Funeral Home.  The funeral service will be Wednesday, July 31^st at 10:00 a.m. at the Portland United Methodist Church, followed by interment at the Portland Cemetery.