Little Rock businessman, former University of Arkansas trustee and philanthropist Gus "Buddy" Blass II died Sunday at CHI St. Vincent Infirmary in Little Rock after a bout with pneumonia.
He was 92.
Blass was best known for his work with the Gus Blass Co. in Little Rock, his donations to the state's Boy Scout council and his service on the UA board of trustees when the university joined the Southeastern Conference in athletics.
"He left some deep footprints to fill in Arkansas," said David Pryor, a former U.S. senator and Arkansas governor. "He gave his heart and soul to our state. He excelled in making this state better."
Blass is survived by his wife, Patricia Blass, of 66 years; a son, Gus Blass III of Little Rock; and a daughter, Patricia O'Neill of Dallas.
Blass was born May 31, 1923, in Little Rock and graduated from Central High School. He attended the state's first Boys State in 1940 and attended the University of Arkansas at Fayetteville for three years before enlisting in the U.S. Army.
He received his basic training at Camp Walters, Texas, and graduated at Fort Knox, Ky., after attending the Armored Force School there. Blass was commissioned as a second lieutenant.
Blass fought in the Battle of the Bulge, a major German offensive in Belgium, France and Luxembourg, during the winter of 1944. He was later wounded at Nordhausen, Germany, and received the Purple Heart.
He returned to Little Rock, where he began his business career.
He joined the Gus Blass Co., his father's department store, and later began Capital Savings and Loan in 1961 and Capital Properties in 1970, which grew to $100 million in assets when it was sold to First South Savings and Loan in 1980.
"Business was in his DNA," Pryor said. "He was a true leader."
Blass began chairing fundraising campaigns, raising $1 million for the Pulaski County Community Chest in 1956 and helping raise contributions for the Pulaski County American Red Cross' building near Fair Park Boulevard. He also helped raise $3 million for St. Vincent Infirmary's newly located hospital and improvements.
He served on the Quapaw Area Council of Boy Scouts in Little Rock since 1946 and was instrumental in obtaining 3,200 acres near Damascus for a Scout campsite in 1979. In 1991, the council renamed the camp in honor of Blass.
"He was unique in that a lot of people wanted to earn money for themselves through investments," said John Carman, CEO at the Boy Scout council. "Buddy wanted to make money for Scouting. He raised countless millions of dollars for our campaigns.
"He believed wholeheartedly in our programs. He is absolutely one of the best gentlemen I've ever known."
Blass served on the UA-Fayetteville board of trustees from 1981 to 1991 and was its vice chairman from 1986 to 1988. He was named trustee emeritus in 1991 for his 10 years of service.
"[Blass] was a loyal supporter of the University of Arkansas for Medical Sciences and its mission to improve the health and health care of Arkansas," said UAMS Chancellor Dan Rahn in an email. "We are grateful for the contributions he has made over the years that will continue to benefit UAMS' educational and clinical programs that provide tomorrow's health care providers and patient care."
Jim Blair served as a trustee with Blass and considers that board the best in the UA's history.
"This was the board that moved the university to the Southeastern Conference and restored Old Main," Blair said. "He was important to the development of the quality of life in Arkansas.
"He had a keen sense of humor. Once, we were arguing about the expansion of the library. He joked that he couldn't see a reason for doing that. He said he had been at the university for almost four years as a student and had never been in the library."
Despite enduring the pressures of business, Blass never lost his patience or raised his voice with his family, said his daughter, Connie O'Neill.
"He always talked about maintaining integrity," she said. "He said when you put your head on the pillow at night, you have to feel good about having that integrity each day."
He often played cards with his daughter, sitting on the floor with her for hours. When they'd go to a beach, he would build sand castles with her, she said.
"He always had a twinkle in his eye," she said.
He would say to his wife, Patricia, each day that she was "the most beautiful woman" he'd ever seen, O'Neil said.
Early in their marriage, the Blasses would sit on the steps of Oaklawn Park in Hot Springs with $2 and pick a horse to bet on. He maintained that love of horse racing through his life, O'Neil said.
Recently, Blass donated money to send two youngsters and their families to the World Scout Jamboree in Japan.
"He was a rock to so many people," O'Neill said. "He would help anyone who needed it. He was a mentor to a lot of people.
"He paved the way for me. He set the example for all of us."
State Desk on 05/10/2016