William Hayden McIlroy Jr. was born on November 22, 1939, in Fayetteville, Washington County, Arkansas.
McIlroy attended the University of Arkansas and earned a bachelor of science in business administration. Before he graduated, he served in the marines. After graduation, he became the owner and CEO of McIlroy Bank, which his father had established in 1871. He sold the bank to Arvest Bank in 1986 and moved to Dallas, where he became involved in real estate investment.
McIlroy has served on the board of directors of the Arkansas Industrial Development Commission, the Arkansas Bankers Commission, the Fayetteville Youth Center, and the Boy Scouts of America for Northwest Arkansas.
In 1871 the McIlroy family, one of the founding families of Fayetteville, sold 160 acres of land to the state for the establishment of the Arkansas Industrial University, which later became the University of Arkansas. In 2006 he established the McIlroy Family Visiting Professorship in Performing and Visual Arts at the university.
#1: Composite image of early photo of Hayden McIlroy and still frame from Pryor Center video interview
© Pryor Center for Arkansas Oral and Visual History, University of Arkansas
#2: Portrait of Hayden McIlroy's great-grandfather, William McIlroy (1812-1886)
© Pryor Center for Arkansas Oral and Visual History, University of Arkansas
#3: Portrait of Hayden McIlroy Jr.'s grandfather, James Hayden McIlroy (1868-1939)
© Pryor Center for Arkansas Oral and Visual History, University of Arkansas
#4: Hayden McIlroy Jr.'s childhood home, which later became the home of the University of Arkansas Press; Fayetteville, Arkansas
© Pryor Center for Arkansas Oral and Visual History, University of Arkansas
#5: Baby photo of Hayden McIlroy Jr.'s father, William Hayden McIlroy Sr., at 9 months
© Pryor Center for Arkansas Oral and Visual History, University of Arkansas
#6: Portrait of Hayden McIlroy Jr.'s father, William Hayden McIlroy Sr., by C. E. Watton, Fayetteville, Arkansas
© Pryor Center for Arkansas Oral and Visual History, University of Arkansas
#7: Portrait of Hayden McIlroy Jr.'s father, William Hayden McIlroy Sr., by Mrs. S. J. Young, Fayetteville, Arkansas
© Pryor Center for Arkansas Oral and Visual History, University of Arkansas
#8: Hayden McIlroy Jr.'s father, William Hayden McIlroy Sr., in military uniform
© Pryor Center for Arkansas Oral and Visual History, University of Arkansas
#9: Hayden McIlroy Jr.'s father, William Hayden McIlroy Sr., at the beach in Hollywood, Florida
© Pryor Center for Arkansas Oral and Visual History, University of Arkansas
#10: Hayden McIlroy Jr.'s mother, Corin Kays McIlroy, at the beach in Hollywood, Florida
© Pryor Center for Arkansas Oral and Visual History, University of Arkansas
#11: Hayden McIlroy, baby portrait
© Pryor Center for Arkansas Oral and Visual History, University of Arkansas
#12: Hayden McIlroy, 5 months old
© Pryor Center for Arkansas Oral and Visual History, University of Arkansas
#13: Hayden McIlroy, 5 months old
© Pryor Center for Arkansas Oral and Visual History, University of Arkansas
#14: Hayden McIlroy, 5 months old, with paternal grandmother, Sarah Ann Rhea McIlroy, and mother, Corin Kays McIlroy
© Pryor Center for Arkansas Oral and Visual History, University of Arkansas
#15: Hayden McIlroy Jr. being held by his father, William Hayden McIlroy Sr.
© Pryor Center for Arkansas Oral and Visual History, University of Arkansas
#16: Hayden McIlroy, 5 months old
© Pryor Center for Arkansas Oral and Visual History, University of Arkansas
#17: Hayden McIlroy, 5 months old
© Pryor Center for Arkansas Oral and Visual History, University of Arkansas
#18: Hayden McIlroy, baby portrait
© Pryor Center for Arkansas Oral and Visual History, University of Arkansas
#19: Hayden McIlroy, baby portrait
© Pryor Center for Arkansas Oral and Visual History, University of Arkansas
#20: Hayden McIlroy Jr. with his father, William Hayden McIlroy Sr., at the McIlroy family home
© Pryor Center for Arkansas Oral and Visual History, University of Arkansas
#21: Hayden McIlroy as a toddler with his mother, Corin Kays McIlroy
© Pryor Center for Arkansas Oral and Visual History, University of Arkansas
#22: Hayden McIlroy in a pedal car
© Pryor Center for Arkansas Oral and Visual History, University of Arkansas
#23: Hayden McIlroy as a young boy
© Pryor Center for Arkansas Oral and Visual History, University of Arkansas
#24: Hayden McIlroy with his Pla-Mor Flyer Wagon
© Pryor Center for Arkansas Oral and Visual History, University of Arkansas
#25: Hayden McIlroy with his dalmation, Duchess
© Pryor Center for Arkansas Oral and Visual History, University of Arkansas
#26: Hayden McIlroy as a young boy
© Pryor Center for Arkansas Oral and Visual History, University of Arkansas
#27: Hayden McIlroy Jr. with his father, William Hayden McIlroy Sr.
© Pryor Center for Arkansas Oral and Visual History, University of Arkansas
#28: Hayden McIlroy as a young boy in a military costume
© Pryor Center for Arkansas Oral and Visual History, University of Arkansas
#29: Hayden McIlroy as a young boy in a military costume
© Pryor Center for Arkansas Oral and Visual History, University of Arkansas
#30: Hayden McIlroy child portrait
© Pryor Center for Arkansas Oral and Visual History, University of Arkansas
#31: Hayden McIlroy with his mother, Corin Kays McIlroy, at his 5th birthday party; November 22, 1944
© Pryor Center for Arkansas Oral and Visual History, University of Arkansas
#32: Hayden McIlroy Jr. with his parents, Corin Kays McIlroy and William Hayden McIlroy Sr., on his 5th birthday; November 22, 1944
© Pryor Center for Arkansas Oral and Visual History, University of Arkansas
#33: Hayden McIlroy (5th from right) and friends at his 5th birthday party; November 22, 1944
© Pryor Center for Arkansas Oral and Visual History, University of Arkansas
#34: Hayden McIlroy (5th from left) and friends
© Pryor Center for Arkansas Oral and Visual History, University of Arkansas
#35: John Lewis, Hayden McIlroy, Trudy Shoemaker, and Mary Ann Sharp, Mrs. Berg's Sunday school, May 1948
© Pryor Center for Arkansas Oral and Visual History, University of Arkansas
#36: Hayden McIlroy reading with his mother, Corin Kays McIlroy
© Pryor Center for Arkansas Oral and Visual History, University of Arkansas
#37: Hayden McIlroy with his mother, Corin Kays McIlroy
© Pryor Center for Arkansas Oral and Visual History, University of Arkansas
#38: Hayden McIlroy on horseback, age 7
© Pryor Center for Arkansas Oral and Visual History, University of Arkansas
#39: Hayden McIlroy, age 7, and his mother, Corin Kays McIlroy, on horseback
© Pryor Center for Arkansas Oral and Visual History, University of Arkansas
#40: Hayden McIlroy in a Boy Scout shirt with family members
© Pryor Center for Arkansas Oral and Visual History, University of Arkansas
#41: Hayden McIlroy with his grandmother and his cousin, Bill Bagby
© Pryor Center for Arkansas Oral and Visual History, University of Arkansas
#42: Hayden McIlroy with his dog
© Pryor Center for Arkansas Oral and Visual History, University of Arkansas
#43: John Lewis, Hayden McIlroy, and Mike Shirley at St. Paul's Episcopal Church, Fayetteville, Arkansas
© Pryor Center for Arkansas Oral and Visual History, University of Arkansas
#44: Portrait of Hayden McIlroy Jr.'s father, William Hayden McIlroy Sr. (1891-1961)
© Pryor Center for Arkansas Oral and Visual History, University of Arkansas
#45: Hayden McIlroy in his high school letter sweater and tie
© Pryor Center for Arkansas Oral and Visual History, University of Arkansas
#46: Hayden McIlroy in his high school letter sweater and tie
© Pryor Center for Arkansas Oral and Visual History, University of Arkansas
#47: Hayden McIlroy in St. John's Military Academy dress uniform, senior year picture
© Pryor Center for Arkansas Oral and Visual History, University of Arkansas
#48: Hayden McIlroy in St. John's Military Academy dress uniform, senior year picture
© Pryor Center for Arkansas Oral and Visual History, University of Arkansas
#49: Hayden McIlroy Jr. with his father, William Hayden McIlroy Sr., at the McIlroy family home
© Pryor Center for Arkansas Oral and Visual History, University of Arkansas
#50: Hayden McIlroy in Marine Corps uniform, 1960
© Pryor Center for Arkansas Oral and Visual History, University of Arkansas
#51: Hayden McIlroy in Marine Corps field uniform and camouflage helmet
© Pryor Center for Arkansas Oral and Visual History, University of Arkansas
#52: Hayden McIlroy and Barbara Lunsford (Pryor), ca. 1960
© Pryor Center for Arkansas Oral and Visual History, University of Arkansas
#53: McIlroy family: (standing) Hayden McIlroy and his wife, Mary Joe; (seated, left to right) daughters, Melissa and Michelle; his mother, Corin Kays McIlroy; and daughter, Melinda
© Pryor Center for Arkansas Oral and Visual History, University of Arkansas
#54: Hayden McIlroy
© Pryor Center for Arkansas Oral and Visual History, University of Arkansas
#55: Portrait of Hayden McIlroy
© Pryor Center for Arkansas Oral and Visual History, University of Arkansas
#56: Painting of Hayden McIlroy Jr.'s childhood home, Fayetteville Arkansas
© Pryor Center for Arkansas Oral and Visual History, University of Arkansas
#57: Mary Joe and Hayden McIlroy with their daughters, Melissa, Michelle, and Melinda
© Pryor Center for Arkansas Oral and Visual History, University of Arkansas
#58: Hayden McIlroy and his wife, Mary Joe McIlroy, at a Dallas Cowboys football game
© Pryor Center for Arkansas Oral and Visual History, University of Arkansas
#59: Behind-the-scenes photo from Pryor Center interview with Haydon McIlroy; Fayetteville, Arkansas, 2011
© Pryor Center for Arkansas Oral and Visual History, University of Arkansas
#60: Still frame from Pryor Center video interview with Hayden McIlroy; Fayetteville, Arkansas, 2011
© Pryor Center for Arkansas Oral and Visual History, University of Arkansas
#61: Still frame from Pryor Center video interview with Hayden McIlroy; Fayetteville, Arkansas, 2011
© Pryor Center for Arkansas Oral and Visual History, University of Arkansas
#62: Still frame from Pryor Center video interview with Hayden McIlroy; Fayetteville, Arkansas, 2011
© Pryor Center for Arkansas Oral and Visual History, University of Arkansas
