Bobby Hopper died Friday.
But Arkansans won't soon forget him.
His name is on Arkansas' only highway tunnel -- the Bobby Hopper Tunnel on Interstate 49 near Winslow -- as well as a bridge and highway at Cotter, a bypass in Mountain Home and a park in Springdale.
Hopper, 89, of Springdale, was the longest serving highway commissioner in Arkansas history. He was appointed by Gov. Bill Clinton in 1983 and served on the Arkansas Highway Commission until 1999.
"Bobby was a remarkable person -- a good man, a great friend, a model citizen, and one of the finest and most effective highway commissioners ever," former President Bill Clinton said in a statement issued Saturday.
During his tenure, Hopper was also the first commissioner to serve two terms as chair of the commission.
According to a statement from his family, Hopper died peacefully surrounded by loving family members.
Bobby Gene Hopper was born at Cotter in Baxter County on Dec. 14, 1932, to William Eatman and Essie Thomas Hopper.
Hopper served in the U.S. Army in Okinawa during the Korean conflict. Following his service, he returned to Arkansas where he married Lois Oels. They moved to Albuquerque, N.M., where they had two children, Regina and Robert Hopper.
In 1969, the family moved to Springdale where Hopper was one of a few young men chosen by Ford Motor Co. to build an automobile dealership. His advertising slogan was "Don't say Ford, say Bobby Hopper Ford!"
In 1983, Clinton appointed Hopper to serve the unexpired term of Festus H. Martin on the Arkansas Highway Commission, said Randy Ort, deputy director and chief operating officer for the Arkansas Department of Transportation. Then, in 1989, Clinton reappointed Hopper to serve a full 10-year term on the commission.
Dick Trammel, a former highway commissioner, said Hopper was instrumental in getting Interstate 540 constructed from Alma to Fayetteville, providing much easier access to Northwest Arkansas. That section of Interstate 540 is now part of Interstate 49.
"Bobby Hopper was the influence that made Northwest Arkansas open to the rest of the country when he came up with Interstate 540," said Trammel.
"The impact of Bobby's work on the highway commission to Northwest Arkansas's economic and social development is still flourishing today," according to a statement from his family. "He centered on his dream that Northwest Arkansas could be a global leader if only the region's transportation system could support it."
"Bobby built a legacy of public service, hard work and perseverance in working towards a vision," said Lorie Tudor, director of the Arkansas Department of Transportation. "While we have lost a great friend, a wonderful person, and a dedicated servant of the people, he and his legacy will never be forgotten."
The completion of Hopper's term on the Highway Commission coincided with the completion of the interstate from Alma to Fayetteville in 1999.
"His dream was fulfilled with the opening of Interstate 49," according to the family's statement. "The interstate included a dual tunnel to ensure motorists could easily navigate through the region's beautiful Boston Mountains."
"We've got a beautiful forest down there, and of course the commission, we didn't want to mess it all up," Hopper told KFSM television in 2016.
Rodney Slater, a former Arkansas highway commissioner, said he and Hopper were "committed to serving an entire state struggling to be the best it could be and ensure opportunity for everyone."
"We were always of a mind that being a member of the commission was a sacred honor," said Slater, who served as U.S. secretary of transportation under Clinton. "No one would have to work to talk to us. It was very important that we travel the state and make ourselves available to the people we had the honor to serve. This is what public service is all about."
Hopper also served on the Springdale Chamber of Commerce. He donated land for a city park in Springdale that bears his name.
"All who knew Bobby Hopper will remember and cherish how he lived his life with an enormous desire to help others," said Bill Rogers, president of the Springdale Chamber of Commerce. "Generations of Arkansans have and will benefit from his leadership as a highway commissioner. We have all lost a great friend and public servant."
"Bobby was known to many for his kindness and as someone who truly cared and loved people," according to his family. "He was always ready with a story, a hearty laugh and a joke. His family said he always hoped to 'leave something better than he found it,' and to do what he could to make people's lives better."
If there's a highway commission in Heaven, Bobby Hopper will be on it, said Trammel.
"And Heaven will have the best roads available," he said.
"I loved him," said Clinton. "And my thoughts and prayers are with Lois, Regina, Robert, and all who will miss him. We need more people like him in public life."