Charles T. Bernard

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 (1927-09-10)September 10, 1927 Earle, Arkansas, U.S.
Died	June 27, 2015(2015-06-27) (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.

Charles Taylor Bernard Sr. (September 10, 1927 – June 27, 2015) 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.

Background

Bernard attended Baylor University in Waco, Texas, where he became enamored with the poetry of Robert Browning, whom he often quoted. He farmed cotton at Earle and operated One Hour Martenizing dry cleaning establishments in eastern Arkansas.

In 2013, he was listed as a resident of Naples, Florida. 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.

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.

Political activities

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.

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.

References

• Charles T. Bernard at The Political Graveyard