ROGERS -- Mark Kruger, Rogers' longest-serving City Council member and a retired high school administrator, died this week, the city announced Wednesday.
He was 75 years old.
Kruger was first elected to the council in 1988. He was one of the council's two Ward 1 representatives. Ward 1 is the northeast part of the city.
Kruger was elected to his current four-year term in November 2020, when he collected about 59% of the votes.
He served on the city's Community Service and Public Safety committees, and as chairman of the Transportation Committee, according to a post on the city's Facebook page.
Mayor Greg Hines said he was deeply sorry to hear of Kruger's death.
"It is always difficult to lose someone who has made a significant impact in the community and dedicated their life to public service," Hines said.
Hines extended his condolences to Kruger's family, in particular Kruger's wife, Anne.
"My heart goes out to her as she navigates through this time. I hope that she can find solace in the love and support of those around her, and that she can take comfort in the knowledge that her husband's legacy will live on through the positive changes he made in the community," Hines said.
Kruger was born in Mississippi and graduated from Christian Brothers High School in Memphis, Tenn. He came to Northwest Arkansas to attend college and graduated from the University of Arkansas in 1970 with a bachelor's degree in physical education.
Kruger also earned his master's degree and 30 additional hours above it at the University of Arkansas. He moved to Rogers in 1973 and became the first community school recreation director in the town's history.
He retired in 2011 after 38 years of working in the Rogers School District. He was an assistant principal at Rogers High School when he left.
"I have come to the conclusion that I'm too old-school to be here anymore," Kruger told a newspaper reporter at the time, when asked about his decision to retire.
He was inducted into the Rogers Mountaineer Athletic Hall of Fame in 2021 for his service to Mountaineer athletics. The Hall of Fame website notes Kruger was Rogers High School's first-ever volleyball coach and that he also coached girls' basketball and track and boys' and girls' tennis.
"He was known to all the coaches and athletes as a supporter, counselor, and encourager," the website states about Kruger.
Betsy Reithemeyer, a Ward 4 council member, served on the council with Kruger for 16 years.
"When you talk about Mark Kruger, you are talking about the epitome of the servant leader," Reithemeyer said.
In his role as head of the Transportation Committee, Kruger helped shepherd road projects that proved key to the city's development, she said.
Reithemeyer said she was a student at Rogers High School during the early days of Kruger's tenure there.
"You didn't want to get on his bad side, but he was fair," she said.
Kruger had been ill, Reithemeyer said.
Barney Hayes, another current council member, worked with Kruger for many years both on council and as a longtime School District employee. Hayes said he met Kruger in 1974.
Kruger "has done a tremendous amount of good work for the city and the school system," Hayes said.
Kruger participated fully in the council's last meeting April 25, Hayes said. Hayes and several of Kruger's close friends visited Kruger for about 30 minutes Friday afternoon.
"Once again the community is losing a great leader and a man with a great deal of passion for the city," Hayes said. "It will be very difficult to replace him."