Good morning. I know ya’ll don’t recognize that name, but I wanted to say a few words about Gil Hogue.
I’ll start by saying that Gil is my uncle and father to my cousin/brother, Ryan.
Gil passed away this morning after contracting covid while also courageously battling Parkinson’s and cancer.
He passed peacefully with my brother holding his hand, under the warmth of his Razorback blanket.
I have said this many times before, but it bears repeating, Ryan Hogue is the best man I know.
He lost his job just as his dad fell ill. Ryan lives in Kansas City, and his dad lived in the small town of Weiner, Arkansas. Ryan took on the job of caregiver from a distance, but eventually spent more and more time in Arkansas caring for his dad than he did with his wife and son. Eventually, that became too much, and Ryan moved him into a beautiful assisted living facility in KC. Ryan spent nearly every day with his dad. They loved watching the Hogs, Cowboys, and Chiefs together.
Now, both of them can get some well-deserved rest, and Gil gets to go home to my wonderful Aunt Judy. Please pray for Ryan, his wife, Steph, his son, Cooper, and his brother, Shawn.
I will close by telling you a bit about Gil. He was a travelling preacher and drove trucks for the family business, Hogue Farm Supply. Gil could be a bit gruff. My brother does an impression of him that cracks me up every time he does it. But Gil softened over the years, and I really enjoyed spending time with him.
Gil officiated my first wedding, and one of the lines he used was, “life is not a magic show,” which made everyone laugh, but the last laugh is on him, because his grandson, Coop, loves doing magic tricks. 
When my dad moved to Vegas, Gil helped him move. Gil didn’t drink, but my dad offered him some Jack, and Gil accepted. Dad says it was hilarious…I wish I would have been there to see it, lol.
Gil really liked knives and took pride in keeping them razor sharp. In fact, when we would go out for steak, Gil would use his own pocket knife. 
And when we would go out as a family, Gil always had a sharp hat on. His hat game was strong.
Gil also loved wrestling. If it was on, he was watching it. It was something he really enjoyed watching with Ryan when he got sick.
I collect comic books, and Gill had some really cool old ones. I like superhero books, but Gil liked Conan the Barbarian. I bought the books from him as a poor college student for not a lot of money. They are worth some pretty good money today, and I don’t intend to sell them, but if I ever do, I will split the money with Ryan.
Every time Gil and my Aunt Judy would visit, Gil would grab my old guitar and tune it…even if he had just tuned it a couple of months before, lol. He could strum it pretty good too, and he had a beautiful deep church singing voice.
After my Aunt Judy died, Gil moved back to where his family was in Weiner (they had been living in KC). He would come up for Hog games from time to time when Ryan was in town. He was there with us when we celebrated the 25th anniversary of our National Championship.
I’m gonna miss him, and I am so glad I got to see him one last time a couple of weeks ago.
Funny story, my brother-in-law, Brad (also a good dude) bought Gil a Firehouse sub and he devoured that sucker in no time. 
Sorry for the long story, but I wanted to put this out into the universe, because when I first asked for your prayers on this board, your response meant a lot to me, but it meant even more to Ryan and his dad. Ryan reads this board but doesn’t post. He’s always been the ice to my fire, lol.
Anyway, I’ll just close by saying what Gil would have been saying later today…Go Hogs!
Thanks for reading, and God Bless. Love you guys.