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Charles Taylor Bernard Sr. (September 10, 1927 – June 27, 2015)[1] was an American businessman and politician originally from Earle, Arkansas. He is best known as the 1968 Republican nominee for the United States Senate seat held by long-time Democrat J. William Fulbright of Fayetteville.
Charles T. Bernard | |
|---|---|
| Arkansas Republican Party State Chairman | |
| In office 1971–1973 | |
| Preceded by | Odell Pollard |
| Succeeded by | Jim R. Caldwell |
| Personal details | |
| Born | Charles Taylor Bernard September 10, 1927 Earle, Arkansas, U.S. |
| Died | June 27, 2015 (aged 87) Memphis, Tennessee, U.S. |
| Political party | Republican |
| Spouse | Betty Hill (divorced) |
| Domestic partner | Jaynie Moon |
| Children | 5 |
| Alma mater | Baylor University |
| Occupation | Farmer; businessman |
| In 1968, Bernard made the strongest showing of any Republican nominee against Democratic U.S. Senator J. William Fulbright in Arkansas but barely reached 40 percent. | |
Bernard attended Baylor University in Waco, Texas, where he became enamored with the poetry of Robert Browning, whom he often quoted.[1] He farmed cotton at Earle and operated One Hour Martenizing dry cleaning establishments in eastern Arkansas.[citation needed]
In 2013, he was listed as a resident of Naples, Florida.[2] His obituary indicates that he also resided in Maui, Hawaii. Bernard and his wife, the former Betty Hill (born c. 1931), who still resides in Earle, had five children: Sallie Hill Armstrong (husband Robert) of Reno, Nevada; Mary Troy Johnston (Kauai, Hawaii), Charles Taylor Bernard Jr., and wife Elaine of Memphis, Tennessee; David Wesley Bernard and wife Virginia Caris of Birmingham, Alabama, and John Harbert Bernard and wife Mary Reynolds of Atlanta, Georgia.[1]
His obituary indicated that after the middle 1980s he lived with Jaynie Moon (born c. 1941). The obituary does not indicated if he divorced Betty. At the age of seventy-five, Bernard hiked with all the men of his family to the bottom of the Grand Canyon; at eighty-two, he completed a seven-mile combination kayak tour and trail to the waterfall in the Wailua River Valley on Kauai, Hawaii.[1]
In 1970, Bernard and then Republican State Representative George E. Nowotny of Fort Smith both considered running for governor had Rockefeller not sought a third term.[1]
Bernard died in Memphis, Tennessee, at the age of eighty-seven, but it is unclear if he was a Memphis resident in his last years. He was cremated. According to his obituary, Bernard "always remained a combination of a small town boy and larger than life figure, making himself big enough for any challenge but always remaining a true Southern gentleman.[1]
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