Business, Community Leader Dies

— Joe Bill Hackler, a longtime Rogers business and community leader, died this week in Fayetteville.

Hackler was originally from Mountain Home and served in the Arkansas House of Representatives from Baxter County. He and his wife, Eloise, moved to Rogers in 1954. She died in 1998. They were both members of the Central United Methodist Church.

He had lived at Butterfield Trail Village in Fayetteville for 10 years, friends said.

A World War II veteran, Hackler served in the U.S. Army Air Corps from 1943 to 1944, according to the Veterans History Project.

A first lieutenant, Hackler flew with the 485th Bomb Group in Italy. His Consolidated B-24 Liberator plane was shot down over Yugoslavia while on his 49th mission, and he was sent to a prisoner of war camp, said Gene Kelley, Hackler’s longtime friend and attorney.

“He put together a plan while a prisoner and helped 37 prisoner escape from the camp,” Kelley said. “At the time he died, he was the oldest World War II veteran living in Arkansas.”

Former Gov. Bill Clinton gave Hackler a “POW 1” license plate, Kelley said.

After the war, Hackler became a businessman. He helped start a saving and loan company in Rogers, owned a Chevrolet dealership and dabbled in real estate, friends said.

“He was quite a businessman. When I was considering whether to invest in something, my wife would ask me what Joe Bill thought of the project,” Kelley said with a laugh.

Hackler quietly helped a lot of people, Kelley said.

“He never said much about it and usually kept it to himself, but he helped a lot of people over the years,” Kelley said.

Besides his business prowess, Hackler was involved in the community.

“He served as the president of the Rogers Chamber of Commerce in 1972 and 1973,” said Raymond Burns, chief executive officer and president of the Rogers-Lowell Area Chamber of Commerce.

At that time, the chairman was called president, Burns said.

“He was a very nice man and took an interest in seeing the community grow and prosper,” Burns said.

Funeral services are pending.

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