Robert G. Pugh
Encyclopedia
Robert Gahagan Pugh, Sr., known as Bob Pugh (August 25, 1924–November 17, 2007), was a prominent attorney
in Shreveport
, Louisiana
, who, as his local bar association
president in 1970–1971, initiated the first prepaid legal services plan in the United States
. By the time that Pugh died of a lengthy illness at the age of eighty-three, some 43 percent of Americans were covered by legal insurance
.
Pugh and his older son, Robert, Jr., were the first father-son team ever to make oral arguments before the United States Supreme Court. Heavily involved in political, civic, and social circles throughout his city, state, and nation, Pugh amassed a lengthy resume of accomplishments and honors in a legal career of some fifty-seven years.
Pugh was an advisor to three Louisiana governor
s, including Democrat
Edwin Washington Edwards, Republican
David C. Treen
, and Democrat-turned Republican Charles E. "Buddy" Roemer, III
. He also represented sports figures with their contracts, including Terry Bradshaw
, Joe Ferguson
, Pat Tilley
, and Joe Delaney
.
In 1990, the Louisiana Bar Foundation presented Pugh with its 1990 Distinguished Attorney Award. He was listed in the publications The Best Lawyers in America, Who's Who in American Law, and Who's Who in America. He was also a fellow in the American Academy of Appellate Lawyers.
In 1972, Pugh was elected as a Caddo Parish delegate to the Louisiana Constitutional Convention of 1973, which produced the Louisiana Constitution
of 1974. Among his colleagues at the convention was future Governor Roemer and former State Representative
Frank Fulco
of Shreveport. Another was future U.S. District Judge Thomas E. "Tom" Stagg
of Shreveport, who served as one of Pugh's ten pallbearer
s. In the convention, Pugh authored many of the sections on local and state governments. In October 2004, Pugh and Stagg were jointly honored in ceremonies at the Petroleum Tower in Shreveport by their alma mater, the Paul M. Hebert Law Center
of Louisiana State University
in Baton Rouge, with the "Distinguished Alumnus Award". Pugh was the 2003 winner; Stagg, the 2004 recipient.
, Pugh achieved Eagle Scout
and Order of the Arrow
status. He graduated in 1941 from the Roman Catholic St. John's High School in Shreveport, where he also taught for a time early in his career. In 1996, he was named to the combined St. John-Jesuit-Loyola Hall of Honor. While he was a St. John's student, Pugh taught himself how to perform with a baton and received a drum major scholarship
to Methodist-affiliated Centenary College of Louisiana
in Shreveport. He recalled having purchased his baton with $20 that he found.
During World War II
, Pugh joined the United States Army Air Corps
, forerunner of the United States Air Force
, and was the navigator of a pathfinder
aircraft, which dropped paratroopers into Germany
in Operation Varsity
, considered to have been the largest such landing in military history
.
In 1946, Pugh completed his Bachelor of Arts
degree from Centenary. In 1949, he received his Juris Doctor
from the LSU Law Center. Thereafter, he served as president in 1977 of the LSU Alumni Association and was later named to the alumni association national board. In 1993, the law school named Pugh to its Hall of Fame and an honorary member of Order of the Coif
.
Pugh practiced law in Shreveport from 1949–2006, when he retired because of declining health. During the Korean War
, he was interrupted again by the call of military service. A navigator and intelligence and security officer, Pugh was honorably discharged from the USAF as a first lieutenant
.
From 1992–1994, Pugh was president of the legal organization known as the American Inns of Court. The group presented him with its "Professionalism Award" because Pugh's "life and practice display[ed] the highest character and integrity, coupled with an on-going dedication to the highest standards of the legal profession and the rule of the law."
At the time of Pugh's death, David Treen, in a statement to the Shreveport Times, recalled that Pugh helped to formulate, without compensation to himself, the Louisiana Coastal Wetlands Environmental Levy, an effort to impose taxes on oil
and natural gas
that passes through the state's coastal zone. Treen said that Pugh was "one of five attorneys who worked on it, and they concluded that it was constitutional and would pass muster before the United States Supreme Court. He did a great job. . . . He was very professional. I admired his uprightness, integrity, and ability."
From 1974–1990, Pugh was a member of the Louisiana Board of Regents, which governs state universities outside the LSU system. He chaired the panel from 1981–1983 and helped to craft the state's master plan for higher education
. He was appointed to the board by Edwards, reappointed by Treen in 1980 and by Edwards once again in 1986.
Pugh was also responsible for having updated Louisiana's juvenile
law code. He authored the book, Juvenile Laws of Louisiana: Their History and Development. Long-term friend James C. Gardner
, the mayor
of Shreveport from 1954–1958, said that Pugh's work "was tedious, and he did it almost single-handedly. He did it so well and early in his career that I think everyone has forgotten about it."
A board certified tax attorney, Pugh represented the Louisiana Department of Revenue for more than thirty years.
In 1973, Pugh began a long tenure as a special assistant attorney general to Democratic Attorney General
William J. Guste
, who had defeated the Republican Tom Stagg in the general election
held on February 1, 1972.
in the Shreveport Times, Pugh's "homespun wisdom [displayed before the Supreme Court] delighted all America, even the sound-bite-saturated media
."
When the state Constitution of 1974, which he had helped to write, was challenged before the high court, Pugh developed a new procedural motion still featured in law books about Supreme Court practice. He was involved in landmark cases in election and redistricting
law, trade regulation, securities, trusts and antitrust
law, drug regulation, corporate law, sports law, and succession
s. He was widely recognized as an expert in both federal and state constitutional law. When Pugh argued before the Louisiana Supreme Court
that the state should have class action
s, the Chief Justice asked him to draw up the appropriate rules.
approved in 1976. He authored the governing documents for the LSU Health Sciences Foundation in Shreveport and served continuously on its board.
Pugh also served for a time as a professor
of law and medicine
at the Louisiana State University Health Sciences Center Shreveport
, founded by the late physician
s Edgar Hull
and Joe E. Holoubek.
Heavily involved in Shreveport society, Pugh was a long-time member of the Kappa Alpha Order
, Shreveport Club, Shreveport Country Club
, Shreveport Yacht
Club, Cotillion Club, and the Royal Order of Jesters. He was a founder and second president of East Ridge Country Club. He was a Knight of the Equestrian Order of the Holy Sepulcher.
A requiem mass was held in Pugh's honor on November 21, Thanksgiving
eve, at his home church, Holy Trinity Catholic Church in Shreveport. Interment was in Forest Park Cemetery.
In addition to Judge Stagg, pallbearers included Donald M. Arnold, Ben E. Coleman, John D. Caruthers, Jerry A. Fielder, II, Thomas R. Hicks, George E. McGovern, IV, David Moore, Judge Charles R. Scott, and C. Stewart Slack. In addition to James Gardner, honorary pallbearers were Bess Kelley Black, Gene Grant, Dr. Ike Muslow, Dr. Ned Prothro, George W. Pugh, former State Senator
Virginia Kilpatrick Shehee
, and Donald Zadeck.
The late Mayor James Gardner described Pugh as "a great person and a good friend. Bob and his wife were joys to be with. It was marvelous to be guests in their home. They made you feel so welcome. They were warm and gracious to the finest extent."
Lawyer
A lawyer, according to Black's Law Dictionary, is "a person learned in the law; as an attorney, counsel or solicitor; a person who is practicing law." Law is the system of rules of conduct established by the sovereign government of a society to correct wrongs, maintain the stability of political...
in Shreveport
Shreveport, Louisiana
Shreveport is the third largest city in Louisiana. It is the principal city of the fourth largest metropolitan area in the state of Louisiana and is the 109th-largest city in the United States....
, Louisiana
Louisiana
Louisiana is a state located in the southern region of the United States of America. Its capital is Baton Rouge and largest city is New Orleans. Louisiana is the only state in the U.S. with political subdivisions termed parishes, which are local governments equivalent to counties...
, who, as his local bar association
Bar association
A bar association is a professional body of lawyers. Some bar associations are responsible for the regulation of the legal profession in their jurisdiction; others are professional organizations dedicated to serving their members; in many cases, they are both...
president in 1970–1971, initiated the first prepaid legal services plan in the United States
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
. By the time that Pugh died of a lengthy illness at the age of eighty-three, some 43 percent of Americans were covered by legal insurance
Insurance
In law and economics, insurance is a form of risk management primarily used to hedge against the risk of a contingent, uncertain loss. Insurance is defined as the equitable transfer of the risk of a loss, from one entity to another, in exchange for payment. An insurer is a company selling the...
.
Pugh and his older son, Robert, Jr., were the first father-son team ever to make oral arguments before the United States Supreme Court. Heavily involved in political, civic, and social circles throughout his city, state, and nation, Pugh amassed a lengthy resume of accomplishments and honors in a legal career of some fifty-seven years.
Pugh was an advisor to three Louisiana governor
Governor
A governor is a governing official, usually the executive of a non-sovereign level of government, ranking under the head of state...
s, including Democrat
Democratic Party (United States)
The Democratic Party is one of two major contemporary political parties in the United States, along with the Republican Party. The party's socially liberal and progressive platform is largely considered center-left in the U.S. political spectrum. The party has the lengthiest record of continuous...
Edwin Washington Edwards, Republican
Republican Party (United States)
The Republican Party is one of the two major contemporary political parties in the United States, along with the Democratic Party. Founded by anti-slavery expansion activists in 1854, it is often called the GOP . The party's platform generally reflects American conservatism in the U.S...
David C. Treen
David C. Treen
David Conner "Dave" Treen, Sr. , was an American attorney and politician from Mandeville, St. Tammany Parish, Louisiana – the first Republican Governor of the U.S. state of Louisiana since Reconstruction. He was the first Republican in modern times to have served in the U.S...
, and Democrat-turned Republican Charles E. "Buddy" Roemer, III
Buddy Roemer
Charles Elson "Buddy" Roemer III is an American politician who served as the 52nd Governor of Louisiana, from 1988 to 1992. He was elected as a Democrat but switched to the Republican Party on March 11, 1991...
. He also represented sports figures with their contracts, including Terry Bradshaw
Terry Bradshaw
Terry Paxton Bradshaw is a former American football quarterback with the Pittsburgh Steelers in the National Football League . He played 14 seasons. He is a football analyst and co-host of Fox NFL Sunday...
, Joe Ferguson
Joe Ferguson
Joseph Carlton Ferguson, Jr. is a former American football quarterback in the NFL. Ferguson played college football at the University of Arkansas, where he still holds the school's single game record for most completions and in that same season was named the Southwest Conference's Offensive...
, Pat Tilley
Pat Tilley
Patrick Lee Tilley is a former NFL wide receiver who played for the St. Louis Cardinals . He was selected to the Pro Bowl after the 1980 season....
, and Joe Delaney
Joe Delaney
Joe Alton Delaney was an American football running back who played two seasons in the National Football League . In his two seasons with the Chiefs, Delaney set four franchise records that would stand for over 20 years....
.
In 1990, the Louisiana Bar Foundation presented Pugh with its 1990 Distinguished Attorney Award. He was listed in the publications The Best Lawyers in America, Who's Who in American Law, and Who's Who in America. He was also a fellow in the American Academy of Appellate Lawyers.
In 1972, Pugh was elected as a Caddo Parish delegate to the Louisiana Constitutional Convention of 1973, which produced the Louisiana Constitution
Louisiana Constitution
The Constitution of the State of Louisiana is the cornerstone of Louisiana state law ensuring the rights of individuals, describing the distribution and power of state officials and local government, establishes the state and city civil service systems, creates and defines the operation of a state...
of 1974. Among his colleagues at the convention was future Governor Roemer and former State Representative
Louisiana State Legislature
The Louisiana State Legislature is the state legislature of the U.S. state of Louisiana. It is bicameral body, comprising the lower house, the Louisiana House of Representatives with 105 representatives, and the upper house, the Louisiana Senate with 39 senators...
Frank Fulco
Frank Fulco
Frank J. Fulco, Sr. , was a Democratic member of the Louisiana House of Representatives from 1956–1972 and a leader of the Italian-American community in his native Louisiana...
of Shreveport. Another was future U.S. District Judge Thomas E. "Tom" Stagg
Tom Stagg
Thomas Eaton "Tom" Stagg, Jr. , is a Louisiana attorney, businessman, politician, and jurist who has served as a United States federal judge for the Western District of Louisiana since his appointment by President Richard Nixon in the spring of 1974...
of Shreveport, who served as one of Pugh's ten pallbearer
Pallbearer
A pall-bearer is one of several funeral participants who helps carry the casket of a deceased person from a religious or memorial service or viewing either directly to a cemetery or mausoleum, or to and from the hearse which carries the coffin....
s. In the convention, Pugh authored many of the sections on local and state governments. In October 2004, Pugh and Stagg were jointly honored in ceremonies at the Petroleum Tower in Shreveport by their alma mater, the Paul M. Hebert Law Center
Paul M. Hebert Law Center
The Paul M. Hebert Law Center is a law school in Baton Rouge, Louisiana, part of the Louisiana State University System and located on the main campus of Louisiana State University....
of Louisiana State University
Louisiana State University
Louisiana State University and Agricultural and Mechanical College, most often referred to as Louisiana State University, or LSU, is a public coeducational university located in Baton Rouge, Louisiana. The University was founded in 1853 in what is now known as Pineville, Louisiana, under the name...
in Baton Rouge, with the "Distinguished Alumnus Award". Pugh was the 2003 winner; Stagg, the 2004 recipient.
Early years, education, military
Pugh was born in Shreveport to Orren Lamar Pugh and the former Eulalie Bernadette Wolf (1895–1989). A member of the Boy Scouts of AmericaBoy Scouts of America
The Boy Scouts of America is one of the largest youth organizations in the United States, with over 4.5 million youth members in its age-related divisions...
, Pugh achieved Eagle Scout
Eagle Scout (Boy Scouts of America)
Eagle Scout is the highest rank attainable in the Boy Scouting program of the Boy Scouts of America . A Scout who attains this rank is called an Eagle Scout or Eagle. Since its introduction in 1911, the Eagle Scout rank has been earned by more than 2 million young men...
and Order of the Arrow
Order of the Arrow
The Order of the Arrow is the national honor society of the Boy Scouts of America . It uses American Indian-styled traditions and ceremonies to bestow recognition on scouts selected by their peers as best exemplifying the ideals of Scouting. The society was created by E. Urner Goodman, with the...
status. He graduated in 1941 from the Roman Catholic St. John's High School in Shreveport, where he also taught for a time early in his career. In 1996, he was named to the combined St. John-Jesuit-Loyola Hall of Honor. While he was a St. John's student, Pugh taught himself how to perform with a baton and received a drum major scholarship
Scholarship
A scholarship is an award of financial aid for a student to further education. Scholarships are awarded on various criteria usually reflecting the values and purposes of the donor or founder of the award.-Types:...
to Methodist-affiliated Centenary College of Louisiana
Centenary College of Louisiana
Centenary College of Louisiana is a primarily undergraduate, liberal arts and sciences college in Shreveport, Louisiana. The college is one of the founding members of the Associated Colleges of the South, a pedagogical organization consisting of sixteen Southern liberal arts colleges...
in Shreveport. He recalled having purchased his baton with $20 that he found.
During World War II
World War II
World War II, or the Second World War , was a global conflict lasting from 1939 to 1945, involving most of the world's nations—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...
, Pugh joined the United States Army Air Corps
United States Army Air Corps
The United States Army Air Corps was a forerunner of the United States Air Force. Renamed from the Air Service on 2 July 1926, it was part of the United States Army and the predecessor of the United States Army Air Forces , established in 1941...
, forerunner of the United States Air Force
United States Air Force
The United States Air Force is the aerial warfare service branch of the United States Armed Forces and one of the American uniformed services. Initially part of the United States Army, the USAF was formed as a separate branch of the military on September 18, 1947 under the National Security Act of...
, and was the navigator of a pathfinder
Pathfinders (military)
A pathfinder is a paratrooper who is inserted or dropped into place in order to set up and operate drop zones, pickup zones, and helicopter landing sites for airborne operations, air resupply operations, or other air operations in support of the ground unit commander...
aircraft, which dropped paratroopers into Germany
Germany
Germany , officially the Federal Republic of Germany , is a federal parliamentary republic in Europe. The country consists of 16 states while the capital and largest city is Berlin. Germany covers an area of 357,021 km2 and has a largely temperate seasonal climate...
in Operation Varsity
Operation Varsity
Operation Varsity was a successful joint American–British airborne operation that took place toward the end of World War II...
, considered to have been the largest such landing in military history
History
History is the discovery, collection, organization, and presentation of information about past events. History can also mean the period of time after writing was invented. Scholars who write about history are called historians...
.
In 1946, Pugh completed his Bachelor of Arts
Bachelor of Arts
A Bachelor of Arts , from the Latin artium baccalaureus, is a bachelor's degree awarded for an undergraduate course or program in either the liberal arts, the sciences, or both...
degree from Centenary. In 1949, he received his Juris Doctor
Juris Doctor
Juris Doctor is a professional doctorate and first professional graduate degree in law.The degree was first awarded by Harvard University in the United States in the late 19th century and was created as a modern version of the old European doctor of law degree Juris Doctor (see etymology and...
from the LSU Law Center. Thereafter, he served as president in 1977 of the LSU Alumni Association and was later named to the alumni association national board. In 1993, the law school named Pugh to its Hall of Fame and an honorary member of Order of the Coif
Order of the Coif
The Order of the Coif is an honor society for United States law school graduates. A student at an American law school who earns a Juris Doctor degree and graduates in the top 10 percent of his or her class is eligible for membership if the student's law school has a chapter of the...
.
Pugh practiced law in Shreveport from 1949–2006, when he retired because of declining health. During the Korean War
Korean War
The Korean War was a conventional war between South Korea, supported by the United Nations, and North Korea, supported by the People's Republic of China , with military material aid from the Soviet Union...
, he was interrupted again by the call of military service. A navigator and intelligence and security officer, Pugh was honorably discharged from the USAF as a first lieutenant
Lieutenant
A lieutenant is a junior commissioned officer in many nations' armed forces. Typically, the rank of lieutenant in naval usage, while still a junior officer rank, is senior to the army rank...
.
Bar association leadership
Pugh was long active at all levels of the bar association. He was inducted as the state bar president in 1975 at the Palace of Justice in Paris, France, during the 150th anniversary celebration of the Louisiana Civil Code, which unlike in other states is modeled on Napoleonic law. Pugh was membership chairman of the American Bar Association from 1977–1984, during which time the membership tripled. He was the first Louisiana attorney to have served as president of the National Conference of Bar Presidents, which includes the presidents of the bar associations of each state and all of the larger local groups. Pugh was the first chairman of the Louisiana Supreme Court Historical Society and the second president of the Bar Association for the New Orleans-based United States Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals. He was a life member of both the National Conference of Commissioners on Uniform State Laws and the American Law Institute.From 1992–1994, Pugh was president of the legal organization known as the American Inns of Court. The group presented him with its "Professionalism Award" because Pugh's "life and practice display[ed] the highest character and integrity, coupled with an on-going dedication to the highest standards of the legal profession and the rule of the law."
Active in state government
In addition to advising governors, Pugh chaired the Governor's Commission on a Uniform Defense System, the Governor's Committee for the Study of Capital Punishment, and the Louisiana Indigent Defender Board.At the time of Pugh's death, David Treen, in a statement to the Shreveport Times, recalled that Pugh helped to formulate, without compensation to himself, the Louisiana Coastal Wetlands Environmental Levy, an effort to impose taxes on oil
Oil
An oil is any substance that is liquid at ambient temperatures and does not mix with water but may mix with other oils and organic solvents. This general definition includes vegetable oils, volatile essential oils, petrochemical oils, and synthetic oils....
and natural gas
Natural gas
Natural gas is a naturally occurring gas mixture consisting primarily of methane, typically with 0–20% higher hydrocarbons . It is found associated with other hydrocarbon fuel, in coal beds, as methane clathrates, and is an important fuel source and a major feedstock for fertilizers.Most natural...
that passes through the state's coastal zone. Treen said that Pugh was "one of five attorneys who worked on it, and they concluded that it was constitutional and would pass muster before the United States Supreme Court. He did a great job. . . . He was very professional. I admired his uprightness, integrity, and ability."
From 1974–1990, Pugh was a member of the Louisiana Board of Regents, which governs state universities outside the LSU system. He chaired the panel from 1981–1983 and helped to craft the state's master plan for higher education
Higher education
Higher, post-secondary, tertiary, or third level education refers to the stage of learning that occurs at universities, academies, colleges, seminaries, and institutes of technology...
. He was appointed to the board by Edwards, reappointed by Treen in 1980 and by Edwards once again in 1986.
Pugh was also responsible for having updated Louisiana's juvenile
Minor (law)
In law, a minor is a person under a certain age — the age of majority — which legally demarcates childhood from adulthood; the age depends upon jurisdiction and application, but is typically 18...
law code. He authored the book, Juvenile Laws of Louisiana: Their History and Development. Long-term friend James C. Gardner
James C. Gardner
James Creswell Gardner, I, known as Jim Gardner , was a power company executive best known as the mayor of Shreveport, Louisiana, who served a single term from 1954-1958....
, the mayor
Mayor
In many countries, a Mayor is the highest ranking officer in the municipal government of a town or a large urban city....
of Shreveport from 1954–1958, said that Pugh's work "was tedious, and he did it almost single-handedly. He did it so well and early in his career that I think everyone has forgotten about it."
A board certified tax attorney, Pugh represented the Louisiana Department of Revenue for more than thirty years.
In 1973, Pugh began a long tenure as a special assistant attorney general to Democratic Attorney General
Attorney General
In most common law jurisdictions, the attorney general, or attorney-general, is the main legal advisor to the government, and in some jurisdictions he or she may also have executive responsibility for law enforcement or responsibility for public prosecutions.The term is used to refer to any person...
William J. Guste
William J. Guste
William J. "Billy" Guste, Jr., is a New Orleans attorney, businessman and popular Democratic attorney general of Louisiana from 1972 to 1992. He succeeded the scandal-plagued Jack P.F. Gremillion, a fellow Democrat who had held the position since 1956. Guste received recognition for molding the...
, who had defeated the Republican Tom Stagg in the general election
General election
In a parliamentary political system, a general election is an election in which all or most members of a given political body are chosen. The term is usually used to refer to elections held for a nation's primary legislative body, as distinguished from by-elections and local elections.The term...
held on February 1, 1972.
Appearing before U.S. Supreme Court
Pugh represented the State of Louisiana in five oral arguments before the U.S. Supreme Court, once with his older son, Robert, Jr. (born 1954), in what was the first ever father-son team to have appeared together before the court. According to Pugh's obituaryObituary
An obituary is a news article that reports the recent death of a person, typically along with an account of the person's life and information about the upcoming funeral. In large cities and larger newspapers, obituaries are written only for people considered significant...
in the Shreveport Times, Pugh's "homespun wisdom [displayed before the Supreme Court] delighted all America, even the sound-bite-saturated media
News media
The news media are those elements of the mass media that focus on delivering news to the general public or a target public.These include print media , broadcast news , and more recently the Internet .-Etymology:A medium is a carrier of something...
."
When the state Constitution of 1974, which he had helped to write, was challenged before the high court, Pugh developed a new procedural motion still featured in law books about Supreme Court practice. He was involved in landmark cases in election and redistricting
Redistricting
Redistricting is the process of drawing United States electoral district boundaries, often in response to population changes determined by the results of the decennial census. In 36 states, the state legislature has primary responsibility for creating a redistricting plan, in many cases subject to...
law, trade regulation, securities, trusts and antitrust
Antitrust
The United States antitrust law is a body of laws that prohibits anti-competitive behavior and unfair business practices. Antitrust laws are intended to encourage competition in the marketplace. These competition laws make illegal certain practices deemed to hurt businesses or consumers or both,...
law, drug regulation, corporate law, sports law, and succession
Inheritance
Inheritance is the practice of passing on property, titles, debts, rights and obligations upon the death of an individual. It has long played an important role in human societies...
s. He was widely recognized as an expert in both federal and state constitutional law. When Pugh argued before the Louisiana Supreme Court
Louisiana Supreme Court
The Supreme Court of Louisiana is the highest court and court of last resort in the U.S. state of Louisiana. The modern Supreme Court, composed of seven justices, meets in the French Quarter of New Orleans....
that the state should have class action
Class action
In law, a class action, a class suit, or a representative action is a form of lawsuit in which a large group of people collectively bring a claim to court and/or in which a class of defendants is being sued...
s, the Chief Justice asked him to draw up the appropriate rules.
Civic and society leadership
Pugh was also a member of the Citizens Charter Study Committee, whose work in the middle 1970s led ultimately to the mayor/council form of municipal government, which began in Shreveport in 1979. His friend James Gardner served on the first city council under the new charter. Pugh and other Shreveport leaders pushed heavily for four-year university status for LSU-Shreveport, which the Louisiana State LegislatureLouisiana State Legislature
The Louisiana State Legislature is the state legislature of the U.S. state of Louisiana. It is bicameral body, comprising the lower house, the Louisiana House of Representatives with 105 representatives, and the upper house, the Louisiana Senate with 39 senators...
approved in 1976. He authored the governing documents for the LSU Health Sciences Foundation in Shreveport and served continuously on its board.
Pugh also served for a time as a professor
Professor
A professor is a scholarly teacher; the precise meaning of the term varies by country. Literally, professor derives from Latin as a "person who professes" being usually an expert in arts or sciences; a teacher of high rank...
of law and medicine
Medicine
Medicine is the science and art of healing. It encompasses a variety of health care practices evolved to maintain and restore health by the prevention and treatment of illness....
at the Louisiana State University Health Sciences Center Shreveport
Louisiana State University Health Sciences Center Shreveport
Louisiana State University Health Sciences Center Shreveport is the academic center for medicine and medical research in North Louisiana. It is located in Shreveport and is part of the Louisiana State University System. The medical school opened in 1969. One of its founders was Dr. Joe E...
, founded by the late physician
Physician
A physician is a health care provider who practices the profession of medicine, which is concerned with promoting, maintaining or restoring human health through the study, diagnosis, and treatment of disease, injury and other physical and mental impairments...
s Edgar Hull
Edgar Hull
Edgar Hull, Jr. , was a physician from Louisiana and in 1931 a founding faculty member of the Louisiana State University Medical Center in New Orleans. In 1966, he became the first Dean of the Louisiana State University School of Medicine at Shreveport...
and Joe E. Holoubek.
Heavily involved in Shreveport society, Pugh was a long-time member of the Kappa Alpha Order
Kappa Alpha Order
Kappa Alpha Order is a social fraternity and fraternal order. Kappa Alpha Order has 124 active chapters, 3 provisional chapters, and 2 commissions...
, Shreveport Club, Shreveport Country Club
Country club
A country club is a private club, often with a closed membership, that typically offers a variety of recreational sports facilities and is located in city outskirts or rural areas. Activities may include, for example, any of golf, tennis, swimming or polo...
, Shreveport Yacht
Yacht
A yacht is a recreational boat or ship. The term originated from the Dutch Jacht meaning "hunt". It was originally defined as a light fast sailing vessel used by the Dutch navy to pursue pirates and other transgressors around and into the shallow waters of the Low Countries...
Club, Cotillion Club, and the Royal Order of Jesters. He was a founder and second president of East Ridge Country Club. He was a Knight of the Equestrian Order of the Holy Sepulcher.
Last rites and legacy
In addition to his parents, Pugh was predeceased by two brothers and a sister. Survivors included his wife of fifty-five years, the former Jo Ann Powell; and children, Robert Pugh, Jr., and wife, the former Maura Querbes Jean Anne Pugh Cottingham, and Lamar Powell Pugh (born 1962), all of Shreveport; and four grandchildren, Caroline Ann Cottingham, Christopher William Cottingham, Robert Gahagan Pugh, III, and McKenzie Querbes Pugh. Pugh and his two sons, both lawyers, were his partners in the firm Pugh, Pugh, & Pugh at 333 Texas Street in Shreveport, and daughter Jean also worked for the firm.A requiem mass was held in Pugh's honor on November 21, Thanksgiving
Thanksgiving
Thanksgiving Day is a holiday celebrated primarily in the United States and Canada. Thanksgiving is celebrated each year on the second Monday of October in Canada and on the fourth Thursday of November in the United States. In Canada, Thanksgiving falls on the same day as Columbus Day in the...
eve, at his home church, Holy Trinity Catholic Church in Shreveport. Interment was in Forest Park Cemetery.
In addition to Judge Stagg, pallbearers included Donald M. Arnold, Ben E. Coleman, John D. Caruthers, Jerry A. Fielder, II, Thomas R. Hicks, George E. McGovern, IV, David Moore, Judge Charles R. Scott, and C. Stewart Slack. In addition to James Gardner, honorary pallbearers were Bess Kelley Black, Gene Grant, Dr. Ike Muslow, Dr. Ned Prothro, George W. Pugh, former State Senator
Louisiana State Legislature
The Louisiana State Legislature is the state legislature of the U.S. state of Louisiana. It is bicameral body, comprising the lower house, the Louisiana House of Representatives with 105 representatives, and the upper house, the Louisiana Senate with 39 senators...
Virginia Kilpatrick Shehee
Virginia Shehee
Virginia Kilpatrick Shehee is a Shreveport businesswoman and civic leader and the first female state senator from District 38. She won her seat in the 1975 general election by 23 votes over incumbent Cecil K. Carter, Jr. and served a single term until 1980. She was defeated in 1979 by fellow...
, and Donald Zadeck.
The late Mayor James Gardner described Pugh as "a great person and a good friend. Bob and his wife were joys to be with. It was marvelous to be guests in their home. They made you feel so welcome. They were warm and gracious to the finest extent."