(Photo in Navy uniform) (Veteran)

Dr. Alexander Hogg, 86 Funeral services for Dr. Alexander Hogg, 86, of Fort Calhoun, will be held 10:30 a.m. Saturday, July 22, 2006, at the home of Dr. and Mrs. Hogg’s White Pines residence. Attendees are asked to call Heafey-Heafey-Hoffman-Dworak-Cutler’s West Center Chapel for directions. Interment will be in the Fort Calhoun Cemetery. Military honors will be provided by Benson VFW Post 2503.

Visitation begins at 5 p.m. Friday, July 21, at the funeral home, and a wake service will be held at 7 p.m.

Alexander Hogg was born April 15, 1920, in Borgue, Scotland, to David and Agnes Hogg. After the family home burned to the ground when he was six years old, his father moved the family to the United States through Ellis Island in New York.

The family first settled in Sand Springs, Okla. His parents owned and operated a creamery in Stroud, Okla., where he and his sisters wrapped butter before and after school. At the age of 10, he obtained his first job, selling newspapers on the streets of Dallas, Texas. By the time he graduated from high school, he had attended 13 different schools in Oklahoma, Texas and Florida.

As a young man, he supplemented his formal education by reading the entire encyclopedia. After high school, he and his sister Annie, completed two years at the Business College in Chillicothe, Mo., where they both were active members of the basketball teams. It was here that he, as a student instructor, discovered his lifelong love of teaching.

After graduating, he married Earlene Rose; the couple divorced in later years. They had one daughter.

In April 1941, he volunteered for the United States Navy. He began as a 3rd Class Petty Officer at the Navy recruiting station in St. Joseph, Mo. After the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor, he volunteered for sea duty. Yeoman Hogg served four years in French Morocco, the South Pacific, Hawaii, and San Diego, Calif., and remained a patriotic American for the rest of his life.

After returning from military service, he attended veterinary school at Kansas State University, where he received the degree of Doctor of Veterinary Medicine. His career spanned five decades, beginning with a mixed practice in Iowa. After 20 years, he left private practice to attend Iowa State University, where he obtained a master of science degree in veterinary pathology. Dr. Hogg then became the Swine extension Veterinarian and professor at the University of Nebraska in Lincoln. He developed numerous statewide Extension programs, including some of the first farrowing schools for women.

Dr. Hogg presented his scientific work at professional meetings on five continents. He became an internationally recognized expert in swine disease with more than 300 publications and presentations. He was instrumental in the eradication of hog cholera from the United States and received many awards. The American Association of Swine Veterinarians recognized his lifetime of achievement by unanimously electing him as the first recipient of their “Heritage Award.”

After retiring from the university, he remained an enthusiastic learner. He became a technical services consultant for MVP Laboratories, where he was instrumental in the introduction of computers. At the age of 75, he graduated from the Executive Veterinary Program course at the University of Illinois at Champaign.

Through his association with MVP, he became acquainted with Mary Lou Chapek. The pair shared a common interest in adventure, and walked to the bottom of the Grand Canyon-and back-when Dr. Hogg was 70. They visited 50 states, 60 countries, and all seven continents. The couple became engaged on a study cruise to Antarctica. After their wedding, the couple enjoyed restoring and protecting native land adjacent to their home near Fort Calhoun.

He is remembered as a true gentleman, always opening doors for his companions and insisting they go first, never raising his voice or using profanity. Compassion for all living things was part of his nature. Even after his successes and accomplishments, he remained characteristically shy and humble. His family notes he seemed to be the embodiment of the man that Samuel Johnson described when he said, “The true measure of a man is how he treats someone who can do him absolutely no good.”

Dr. Hogg is survived by his wife, Mary Lou (Chapak) Hogg of Fort Calhoun; daughter, Janice Tabet of Paris, France; two grandchildren; a sister, Annie Hurley of Wilmington, De., and nieces and nephews.

Memorials are suggested to the American Association of Swine Veterinarians Foundation for Alexander Hogg Memorial Scholarship Fund or to the Kansas State University Veterinary College for the Alexander Hogg Memorial Scholarship Fund.

Omaha World Herald 20 July 2006

(Photo in Navy uniform) (Veteran)

HOGG-Alexander, D.V.M. age 86 years of Ft. Calhoun. Preceded in death by parents, David and Agnes Hogg, sister Janet. Survived by wife Mary Lou (Chapek) Hogg, of Ft. Calhoun; daughter, Janice Tabet of Paris, France; grandchildren, Alexandre Tabet and wife Sarai of Los Angeles, CA., Michelle Tabet, of Paris France; sister Annie Hurley of Wilmington, DE. Nieces and Nephews.

Wake Service Friday 7:00 PM West Center Chapel. Funeral Saturday 10:30 AM at Dr. and Mrs. Hogg’s White Pines Residence – call the Funeral Home for directions. Interment Ft. Calhoun Cemetery. Family suggests memorials to American Association of Swine Veterinarians Foundation for Alexander Hogg Memorial Scholarship Fund or Kansas State University Veterinary College for Alexander Hogg Memorial Scholarship Fund. Military Honors by Benson VFW 2503. Visitation starts Friday 5:00 PM at the mortuary.

HEAFEY-HEAFEY-HOFFMANN-DWORAK-CUTLER WEST CENTER CHAPEL 78th & West Center 391-3900

~~~ Obituary courtesy of the Washington County Genealogical Society. Newspaper clippings on file in the Blair Public Library at Blair, Nebraska.~~~