Former Arkansas state Rep. Charles O. "Bubba" Wade, 87, who was described as a "sage" for the public and elected officials, died Wednesday in a Texarkana hospital.
"He was always working for the people," Little River County Judge Mike Cranford said.
"I visited him on a couple of occasions at the ranch. I figured he would be sitting on the porch, but he wasn't. He was a busy man, and people would call him and seek his advice. He was a sage and was someone you could counsel with."
Wade was born April 23, 1929, in Texarkana. He was the founder of Arkansas Bankers Life Insurance Co. and a lifelong rancher. Wade was an avid horseman. He helped with the Future Farmers of America program, with high school rodeos and with the kids. He also served in the U.S. Marine Corps.
Cranford said he asked Wade for advice when Cranford was the mayor of Foreman and later county judge "on issues that affected southwest Arkansas and Little River County."
As state representative, Wade served southwest Arkansas, including Little River and portions of Miller counties, for 18 years.
"He was a very bright man who was very aware locally and globally. He kept up with what was going on in the world. He was very good at making a determination of what was best for our area," Cranford said.
Wade was a "dynamic people politician from the old school," said Steve Mitchell, who is the KTXK, 91.5 FM, manager for Texarkana College's National Public Radio station.
He became acquainted with Wade in 1975. Mitchell was the sales manager and news reporter for the KMLA radio station in Ashdown. Mitchell also served 10 years on the Ashdown City Council.
"I had never been around a politician like him. On one hand, he was a fierce fighter for the people representing them at the state Capitol," Mitchell said.
"When he was home, he was a good old boy. We had Mesamore's Cafe in Ashdown, and he would sit at the round table and tell stories and hold court. The customers were common folks, [the late] Police Chief Dutch Webster, the mayors and other elected people who would talk about what was going on and issues that would affect them. He would listen to their stories and enjoyed people," Mitchell said.
"He and Bill Clinton were genuine friends. They talked a lot while Bill Clinton was the Arkansas attorney general and governor. He and Bill Clinton were two good old boys. They really wanted to help people, and they were good old boys who took care of their people. Bubba was a fierce fighter for people. My prayers are with the family."
Wade also understood politics.
In 1980, Wade warned then-Gov. Clinton that Clinton would lose re-election. Clinton lost, and Wade helped him get elected two years later.
Wade also was especially frustrated by the Albert Pike floods.
On June 11, 2010, in the Albert Pike Recreation Area flash flood, Wade's granddaughter Leslie, 23; great-grandson, Kaden, 3; and former daughter-in-law, Sherry, drowned in the Little Missouri River.
Another grandson, Randall Wade, and a granddaughter, Haley Wade, were rescued from the floodwaters in the foothills of the Ouachita Mountains.
The river rose more than 20 feet in less than four hours, killing 20 people.
He called officials trying to drum up interest in a study for a warning system. Albert Pike creates revenue as a recreational destination, he said in an article published Nov. 6 in the Texarkana Gazette. "It seems so sinful that our state can't find the dollars," Wade said.
Tourism is second only to industry in producing tax revenue for Arkansas, he said.
Wade helped pass the legislation that established the recreation area. One of his allies in preserving the environmental landscape was Jim Walton, brother of Wal-Mart founder Sam Walton.
"We ought to have a warning device. It could be warning sirens, and with the technology today, it could be hooked up with the National Weather Service," Wade said in the Texarkana Gazette article.
State Desk on 12/30/2016