Hoyt Hughes Purvis Interviews

Hoyt Hughes Purvis

Hoyt Hughes Purvis was born in Jonesboro, Craighead County, Arkansas, on November 7, 1939.

Purvis attended the University of Texas at Austin, where he earned a bachelor's degree in journalism followed by a master's degree in journalism in 1963. While there he was the editor of the university newspaper, the Daily Texan.

Purvis was a reporter for the Houston Chronicle starting in 1964. He became Senator J. William Fulbright's press secretary in 1967 and worked closely with starting Fulbright for six years. Purvis was a lecturer at the LBJ School of Public Affairs in Austin, Texas, before becoming Senator Robert Byrd's foreign and defense policy advisor in 1976. Purvis taught journalism and political science at the University of Arkansas for thirty-four years, where he founded the Fulbright Institute of International Relations and served as its director.

In 1993 President Bill Clinton appointed Purvis to the J. William Fulbright Foreign Scholarship Board, which he also chaired from 1996 to 1999. He was secretary of the Washington County Historical Society for many years and president from 2011 to 2013. Purvis coauthored Voices of the Razorbacks with a former student, Stanley Sharp, published in 2013.

Purvis passed away on May 26, 2023.

Video

Audio

Transcript pending

Composite image of early photo of Orval Allbritton and still frame from Pryor Center video interview © Pryor Center for Arkansas Oral and Visual History, University of Arkansas

#1: Composite image of early photo of Orval Allbritton and still frame from Pryor Center video interview
© Pryor Center for Arkansas Oral and Visual History, University of Arkansas

#2: Hoyt Purvis (right) with his mother, Jane Hughes Purvis, ca. 1940
© Pryor Center for Arkansas Oral and Visual History, University of Arkansas

Hoyt Purvis, at one year old, on a Mickey Mouse rocking horse; picture taken with his mother, Jane Hughes Purvis on Mother's Day © Pryor Center for Arkansas Oral and Visual History, University of Arkansas

#3: Hoyt Purvis, at one year old, on a Mickey Mouse rocking horse; picture taken with his mother, Jane Hughes Purvis on Mother's Day
© Pryor Center for Arkansas Oral and Visual History, University of Arkansas

Hoyt Purvis outside his grandmother's house, Jonesboro, Arkansas, ca. 1940 © Pryor Center for Arkansas Oral and Visual History, University of Arkansas

#4: Hoyt Purvis outside his grandmother's house, Jonesboro, Arkansas, ca. 1940
© Pryor Center for Arkansas Oral and Visual History, University of Arkansas

#5: Hoyt Purvis as a child, ca. 1941
© Pryor Center for Arkansas Oral and Visual History, University of Arkansas

Hoyt Purvis with his first bicycle outside his home at 1322 S. Main Street, Jonesboro, Arkansas, ca. 1944 © Pryor Center for Arkansas Oral and Visual History, University of Arkansas

#6: Hoyt Purvis with his first bicycle outside his home at 1322 S. Main Street, Jonesboro, Arkansas, ca. 1944
© Pryor Center for Arkansas Oral and Visual History, University of Arkansas

#7: Hoyt Purvis, first-grade portrait, 1945
© Pryor Center for Arkansas Oral and Visual History, University of Arkansas

Sketch of Hoyt Purvis that his father, Hoyt S. Purvis, commissioned while in the Phillipines at the end of World War II © Pryor Center for Arkansas Oral and Visual History, University of Arkansas

#8: Sketch of Hoyt Purvis that his father, Hoyt S. Purvis, commissioned while in the Phillipines at the end of World War II
© Pryor Center for Arkansas Oral and Visual History, University of Arkansas

#9: Hoyt Purvis as a child, ca. 1948
© Pryor Center for Arkansas Oral and Visual History, University of Arkansas

Hoyt Purvis (bottom left) with his father, Hoyt Summervell Purvis; mother, Jane Hughes Purvis; and sister, Peggy Sue Purvis; Easter, ca. 1949 © Pryor Center for Arkansas Oral and Visual History, University of Arkansas

#10: Hoyt Purvis (bottom left) with his father, Hoyt Summervell Purvis; mother, Jane Hughes Purvis; and sister, Peggy Sue Purvis; Easter, ca. 1949
© Pryor Center for Arkansas Oral and Visual History, University of Arkansas

Hoyt Purvis with his father, Hoyt Summervell Purvis; mother, Jane Hughes Purvis; and sister, Peggy Sue Purvis at the Edgewater Gulf Hotel in Biloxi, Mississippi; this picture taken in 1949 was used by the hotel for advertising purposes © Pryor Center for Arkansas Oral and Visual History, University of Arkansas

#11: Hoyt Purvis with his father, Hoyt Summervell Purvis; mother, Jane Hughes Purvis; and sister, Peggy Sue Purvis at the Edgewater Gulf Hotel in Biloxi, Mississippi; this picture taken in 1949 was used by the hotel for advertising purposes
© Pryor Center for Arkansas Oral and Visual History, University of Arkansas

Four generations: Hoyt Purvis (standing) with (from left) his grandfather, H. T. Purvis; great-grandfather, J. A. Purvis; and father, Hoyt S. Purvis; Jonesboro, Arkansas, ca. 1950 © Pryor Center for Arkansas Oral and Visual History, University of Arkansas

#12: Four generations: Hoyt Purvis (standing) with (from left) his grandfather, H. T. Purvis; great-grandfather, J. A. Purvis; and father, Hoyt S. Purvis; Jonesboro, Arkansas, ca. 1950
© Pryor Center for Arkansas Oral and Visual History, University of Arkansas

Hoyt Purvis as a young baseball player on a team sponsored by the American Legion; Jonesboro, Arkansas, 1957 © Pryor Center for Arkansas Oral and Visual History, University of Arkansas

#13: Hoyt Purvis as a young baseball player on a team sponsored by the American Legion; Jonesboro, Arkansas, 1957
© Pryor Center for Arkansas Oral and Visual History, University of Arkansas

Hoyt Purvis standing beside his Carmen Ghia convertible; Brussels, Belgium, 1965 © Pryor Center for Arkansas Oral and Visual History, University of Arkansas

#14: Hoyt Purvis standing beside his Carmen Ghia convertible; Brussels, Belgium, 1965
© Pryor Center for Arkansas Oral and Visual History, University of Arkansas

Volunteers for Fulbright Campaign Headquarters; Little Rock, Arkansas, 1968 © Pryor Center for Arkansas Oral and Visual History, University of Arkansas

#15: Volunteers for Fulbright Campaign Headquarters; Little Rock, Arkansas, 1968
© Pryor Center for Arkansas Oral and Visual History, University of Arkansas

Hoyt Purvis with his daughter, Pamela Purvis, at the Smithsonian Folklife Festival, Washington, DC; July 1971 © Pryor Center for Arkansas Oral and Visual History, University of Arkansas

#16: Hoyt Purvis with his daughter, Pamela Purvis, at the Smithsonian Folklife Festival, Washington, DC; July 1971
© Pryor Center for Arkansas Oral and Visual History, University of Arkansas

Hoyt Purvis with his daughters, Pamela and Camille (seated); Washington, DC, 1974 © Pryor Center for Arkansas Oral and Visual History, University of Arkansas

#17: Hoyt Purvis with his daughters, Pamela and Camille (seated); Washington, DC, 1974
© Pryor Center for Arkansas Oral and Visual History, University of Arkansas

#18: Hoyt Purvis shaking hands with Jimmy Carter
© Pryor Center for Arkansas Oral and Visual History, University of Arkansas

#19: Hoyt Purvis with his daughters, Pamela (left) and Camille Purvis, 1978
© Pryor Center for Arkansas Oral and Visual History, University of Arkansas

Hoyt Purvis (left), Senator Robert C. Byrd (right) and members of his staff aboard Air Force Two © Pryor Center for Arkansas Oral and Visual History, University of Arkansas

#20: Hoyt Purvis (left), Senator Robert C. Byrd (right) and members of his staff aboard Air Force Two
© Pryor Center for Arkansas Oral and Visual History, University of Arkansas

Hoyt Purvis at the Élysée Palace; accompanying Senator Robert Byrd who was meeting with the French president, Valéry Giscard d'Estaing; 1979 © Pryor Center for Arkansas Oral and Visual History, University of Arkansas

#21: Hoyt Purvis at the Élysée Palace; accompanying Senator Robert Byrd who was meeting with the French president, Valéry Giscard d'Estaing; 1979
© Pryor Center for Arkansas Oral and Visual History, University of Arkansas

From left, seated: James B. Cash, Bruce Lindsey, David Lambert; standing, from left: Senator David Pryor, Pat Fleming, Norvill Jones, Lee Williams, Hoyt Purvis, Senator J. William Fulbright, Jack Yingling, Edward Yingling, and Bob Lowe; everyone with the exception of Pryor and Lowe had worked for Senator J. William Fulbright; 116 Club, Washington, DC; 1980 © Pryor Center for Arkansas Oral and Visual History, University of Arkansas

#22: From left, seated: James B. Cash, Bruce Lindsey, David Lambert; standing, from left: Senator David Pryor, Pat Fleming, Norvill Jones, Lee Williams, Hoyt Purvis, Senator J. William Fulbright, Jack Yingling, Edward Yingling, and Bob Lowe; everyone with the exception of Pryor and Lowe had worked for Senator J. William Fulbright; 116 Club, Washington, DC; 1980
© Pryor Center for Arkansas Oral and Visual History, University of Arkansas

#23: Hoyt Purvis, China, 1980
© Pryor Center for Arkansas Oral and Visual History, University of Arkansas

Hoyt Purvis (left) and Senator Byrd at the Great Wall of China; signed: "To Hoyt Purvis, with highest personal esteem, Robert C. Byrd, Majority Leader U. S. Senate .. 1980, July" © Pryor Center for Arkansas Oral and Visual History, University of Arkansas

#24: Hoyt Purvis (left) and Senator Byrd at the Great Wall of China; signed: "To Hoyt Purvis, with highest personal esteem, Robert C. Byrd, Majority Leader U. S. Senate .. 1980, July"
© Pryor Center for Arkansas Oral and Visual History, University of Arkansas

#25: Hoyt Purvis
© Pryor Center for Arkansas Oral and Visual History, University of Arkansas

#26: Senator J. William Fulbright (left) with Hoyt Purvis
© Pryor Center for Arkansas Oral and Visual History, University of Arkansas

#27: Hoyt Purvis (right) with Senator Dale Bumpers, 1991
© Pryor Center for Arkansas Oral and Visual History, University of Arkansas

Panel on the set of AETN's <i>Arkansas Week</i> following the US presidential election of 1992, in which Bill Clinton defeated George H. W. Bush and Ross Perot; (from left) John Brummett, Rex Nelson, Joan Duffy, Steve Barnes, Ann Clemmer, Hoyt Purvis, and Max Brantley © Pryor Center for Arkansas Oral and Visual History, University of Arkansas

#28: Panel on the set of AETN's Arkansas Week following the US presidential election of 1992, in which Bill Clinton defeated George H. W. Bush and Ross Perot; (from left) John Brummett, Rex Nelson, Joan Duffy, Steve Barnes, Ann Clemmer, Hoyt Purvis, and Max Brantley
© Pryor Center for Arkansas Oral and Visual History, University of Arkansas

Senator J. William Fulbright (speaking); (from right) Ray Thornton, Dan Ferritor, Hoyt Purvis © Pryor Center for Arkansas Oral and Visual History, University of Arkansas

#29: Senator J. William Fulbright (speaking); (from right) Ray Thornton, Dan Ferritor, Hoyt Purvis
© Pryor Center for Arkansas Oral and Visual History, University of Arkansas

Hoyt Purvis (2nd from left) with Amy Freedman, Randall Woods, unknown, unknown, and Senator J. William Fulbright © Pryor Center for Arkansas Oral and Visual History, University of Arkansas

#30: Hoyt Purvis (2nd from left) with Amy Freedman, Randall Woods, unknown, unknown, and Senator J. William Fulbright
© Pryor Center for Arkansas Oral and Visual History, University of Arkansas

Hoyt Purvis (from left) with Lee Willams and J. William Fulbright; the bust of Fulbright by Gretta Bader of Stanford, California, was presented to the Kennedy Center in recognition of Fulbright's contribution to the establishment of the Kennedy Center; March 11, 1990 © Pryor Center for Arkansas Oral and Visual History, University of Arkansas

#31: Hoyt Purvis (from left) with Lee Willams and J. William Fulbright; the bust of Fulbright by Gretta Bader of Stanford, California, was presented to the Kennedy Center in recognition of Fulbright's contribution to the establishment of the Kennedy Center; March 11, 1990
© Pryor Center for Arkansas Oral and Visual History, University of Arkansas

Hoyt Purvis (standing) with Senator J. William Fulbright and his wife, Harriet Mayor Fulbright, at a reception sponsored by the University of Arkansas for the inauguration of Bill Clinton as the 42nd president of the United States; Washington, DC, 1993 © Pryor Center for Arkansas Oral and Visual History, University of Arkansas

#32: Hoyt Purvis (standing) with Senator J. William Fulbright and his wife, Harriet Mayor Fulbright, at a reception sponsored by the University of Arkansas for the inauguration of Bill Clinton as the 42nd president of the United States; Washington, DC, 1993
© Pryor Center for Arkansas Oral and Visual History, University of Arkansas

Hoyt Purvis with his wife, Mary Purvis, before a White House dinner to honor Senator J. William Fulbright, 1995 © Pryor Center for Arkansas Oral and Visual History, University of Arkansas

#33: Hoyt Purvis with his wife, Mary Purvis, before a White House dinner to honor Senator J. William Fulbright, 1995
© Pryor Center for Arkansas Oral and Visual History, University of Arkansas

Hoyt Purvis with his wife, Mary Purvis; Cherokee Village, Arkansas, 1996 © Pryor Center for Arkansas Oral and Visual History, University of Arkansas

#34: Hoyt Purvis with his wife, Mary Purvis; Cherokee Village, Arkansas, 1996
© Pryor Center for Arkansas Oral and Visual History, University of Arkansas

Hoyt Purvis (back row, center), chairman of the Fulbright Foreign Scholarship Board and member of a congressional delegation to China headed by Illinois Senator Dick Durbin (front row, 2nd from left), and next to him is Vice Premier of China, Zhu Rongji; James Sasser, US Ambassador to the People's Republic of China; Tennessee Congressman John S. Tanner, and California Congressman George Miller; China, 1997 © Pryor Center for Arkansas Oral and Visual History, University of Arkansas

#35: Hoyt Purvis (back row, center), chairman of the Fulbright Foreign Scholarship Board and member of a congressional delegation to China headed by Illinois Senator Dick Durbin (front row, 2nd from left), and next to him is Vice Premier of China, Zhu Rongji; James Sasser, US Ambassador to the People's Republic of China; Tennessee Congressman John S. Tanner, and California Congressman George Miller; China, 1997
© Pryor Center for Arkansas Oral and Visual History, University of Arkansas

Hoyt Purvis with his daughters, Camille and Pamela Purvis; Cherokee Village, Arkansas, 1997 © Pryor Center for Arkansas Oral and Visual History, University of Arkansas

#36: Hoyt Purvis with his daughters, Camille and Pamela Purvis; Cherokee Village, Arkansas, 1997
© Pryor Center for Arkansas Oral and Visual History, University of Arkansas

Hoyt Purvis shaking hands with Bill Clinton; signed "To Hoyt Purvis with appreciation, for all the years of friendship, Bill Clinton" © Pryor Center for Arkansas Oral and Visual History, University of Arkansas

#37: Hoyt Purvis shaking hands with Bill Clinton; signed "To Hoyt Purvis with appreciation, for all the years of friendship, Bill Clinton"
© Pryor Center for Arkansas Oral and Visual History, University of Arkansas

#38: Hoyt Purvis at a San Antonio Spurs game; San Antonio, Texas, 1999
© Pryor Center for Arkansas Oral and Visual History, University of Arkansas

Hoyt Purvis and his daughter, Camille Purvis Dawson, when she was sworn in as a foreign service officer at the US Department of State; Washington, DC, 2000 © Pryor Center for Arkansas Oral and Visual History, University of Arkansas

#39: Hoyt Purvis and his daughter, Camille Purvis Dawson, when she was sworn in as a foreign service officer at the US Department of State; Washington, DC, 2000
© Pryor Center for Arkansas Oral and Visual History, University of Arkansas

Hoyt Purvis with his wife, Mary (left), and daughter, Pamela Purvis; Italy, ca. 2000 © Pryor Center for Arkansas Oral and Visual History, University of Arkansas

#40: Hoyt Purvis with his wife, Mary (left), and daughter, Pamela Purvis; Italy, ca. 2000
© Pryor Center for Arkansas Oral and Visual History, University of Arkansas

Hoyt Purvis (right) providing analysis with Craig Cannon (left), news anchor at Channel 40/29, on the night of the Bush v. Gore presidential election; November 7, 2000 © Pryor Center for Arkansas Oral and Visual History, University of Arkansas

#41: Hoyt Purvis (right) providing analysis with Craig Cannon (left), news anchor at Channel 40/29, on the night of the Bush v. Gore presidential election; November 7, 2000
© Pryor Center for Arkansas Oral and Visual History, University of Arkansas

Hoyt Purvis standing near the Colosseum while on vacation in Rome, Italy, 2001 © Pryor Center for Arkansas Oral and Visual History, University of Arkansas

#42: Hoyt Purvis standing near the Colosseum while on vacation in Rome, Italy, 2001
© Pryor Center for Arkansas Oral and Visual History, University of Arkansas

Hoyt Purvis (left) with former president Bill Clinton and German Ambassador Wolfgang Ischinger at a symposium on German American Relations; on the occasion of a celebration honoring the 50th anniversary of the German American Fulbright Educational Exchange Program which included a ceremony dedicating a commissioned sculpture of former University of Arkansas president and US Senator J. William Fulbright on the University of Arkansas campus; Fayetteville, Arkansas, October 2002 © Pryor Center for Arkansas Oral and Visual History, University of Arkansas

#43: Hoyt Purvis (left) with former president Bill Clinton and German Ambassador Wolfgang Ischinger at a symposium on German American Relations; on the occasion of a celebration honoring the 50th anniversary of the German American Fulbright Educational Exchange Program which included a ceremony dedicating a commissioned sculpture of former University of Arkansas president and US Senator J. William Fulbright on the University of Arkansas campus; Fayetteville, Arkansas, October 2002
© Pryor Center for Arkansas Oral and Visual History, University of Arkansas

Hoyt Purvis with (from left) his wife, Mary Purvis, and daughters, Pamela Purvis Hatcher and Camille Purvis Dawson; Aspen, Colorado, 2003 © Pryor Center for Arkansas Oral and Visual History, University of Arkansas

#44: Hoyt Purvis with (from left) his wife, Mary Purvis, and daughters, Pamela Purvis Hatcher and Camille Purvis Dawson; Aspen, Colorado, 2003
© Pryor Center for Arkansas Oral and Visual History, University of Arkansas

Hoyt Purvis with his family (from left) son-in-law and daughter, Wade and Camille Dawson; wife, Mary Purvis; daughter, grandson, and son-in-law, Pamela, Wells, and Patrick Hatcher; Christmas; Denver, Colorado, 2005 © Pryor Center for Arkansas Oral and Visual History, University of Arkansas

#45: Hoyt Purvis with his family (from left) son-in-law and daughter, Wade and Camille Dawson; wife, Mary Purvis; daughter, grandson, and son-in-law, Pamela, Wells, and Patrick Hatcher; Christmas; Denver, Colorado, 2005
© Pryor Center for Arkansas Oral and Visual History, University of Arkansas

Hoyt Purvis (left) with Senator David Pryor and Madeleine Albright, former secretary of state; when the Fulbright Association awarded the J. William Fulbright Prize for International Understanding to William Jefferson Clinton, 42nd president of the United States; Washington, DC; April 12, 2006 © Pryor Center for Arkansas Oral and Visual History, University of Arkansas

#46: Hoyt Purvis (left) with Senator David Pryor and Madeleine Albright, former secretary of state; when the Fulbright Association awarded the J. William Fulbright Prize for International Understanding to William Jefferson Clinton, 42nd president of the United States; Washington, DC; April 12, 2006
© Pryor Center for Arkansas Oral and Visual History, University of Arkansas

Hoyt Purvis (right) with Bill Clinton; when the Fulbright Association awarded the J. William Fulbright Prize for International Understanding to William Jefferson Clinton, 42nd president of the United States; Washington, DC; April 12, 2006 © Pryor Center for Arkansas Oral and Visual History, University of Arkansas

#47: Hoyt Purvis (right) with Bill Clinton; when the Fulbright Association awarded the J. William Fulbright Prize for International Understanding to William Jefferson Clinton, 42nd president of the United States; Washington, DC; April 12, 2006
© Pryor Center for Arkansas Oral and Visual History, University of Arkansas

Front row: Mary Berry, Hoyt Purvis, Ruth "Chi-Chi" Hargraves, Dina Wood, Bill Clinton, Marsha Scott, Lee Willliams, Harriet Fulbright; back row: Paul Berry, David Lambert, Joe O'Neill; at the dedication of the Lee Williams Fellowship in Public Service; University of Arkansas Clinton School of Public Service, Little Rock, Arkansas; 2006 © Pryor Center for Arkansas Oral and Visual History, University of Arkansas

#48: Front row: Mary Berry, Hoyt Purvis, Ruth "Chi-Chi" Hargraves, Dina Wood, Bill Clinton, Marsha Scott, Lee Willliams, Harriet Fulbright; back row: Paul Berry, David Lambert, Joe O'Neill; at the dedication of the Lee Williams Fellowship in Public Service; University of Arkansas Clinton School of Public Service, Little Rock, Arkansas; 2006
© Pryor Center for Arkansas Oral and Visual History, University of Arkansas

Hoyt Purvis with a brown trout caught on the White River in Arkansas, 2008 © Pryor Center for Arkansas Oral and Visual History, University of Arkansas

#49: Hoyt Purvis with a brown trout caught on the White River in Arkansas, 2008
© Pryor Center for Arkansas Oral and Visual History, University of Arkansas

Hoyt Purvis and his wife, Mary Purvis, at the Beijing Olympics, summer 2008 © Pryor Center for Arkansas Oral and Visual History, University of Arkansas

#50: Hoyt Purvis and his wife, Mary Purvis, at the Beijing Olympics, summer 2008
© Pryor Center for Arkansas Oral and Visual History, University of Arkansas

The Purvis family at the Beijing Olympics: (from left) Wade and Camille Dawson; Patrick Hatcher; Hoyt and Mary Purvis; Pamela Hatcher; summer 2008 © Pryor Center for Arkansas Oral and Visual History, University of Arkansas

#51: The Purvis family at the Beijing Olympics: (from left) Wade and Camille Dawson; Patrick Hatcher; Hoyt and Mary Purvis; Pamela Hatcher; summer 2008
© Pryor Center for Arkansas Oral and Visual History, University of Arkansas

Hoyt Purvis with his wife, Mary (center), and his sons-in-law and daughters, (on left) Wade and Camille Dawson, and Patrick and Pamela Hatcher; Beijing Olympics, summer 2008 © Pryor Center for Arkansas Oral and Visual History, University of Arkansas

#52: Hoyt Purvis with his wife, Mary (center), and his sons-in-law and daughters, (on left) Wade and Camille Dawson, and Patrick and Pamela Hatcher; Beijing Olympics, summer 2008
© Pryor Center for Arkansas Oral and Visual History, University of Arkansas

Hoyt Purvis with his grandson, Wells Hatcher, at a Colorado Rockies baseball game at Coors Field; Denver, Colorado, 2010 © Pryor Center for Arkansas Oral and Visual History, University of Arkansas

#53: Hoyt Purvis with his grandson, Wells Hatcher, at a Colorado Rockies baseball game at Coors Field; Denver, Colorado, 2010
© Pryor Center for Arkansas Oral and Visual History, University of Arkansas

Hoyt Purvis at Queens University Belfast; Belfast, Northern Ireland, 2011 © Pryor Center for Arkansas Oral and Visual History, University of Arkansas

#54: Hoyt Purvis at Queens University Belfast; Belfast, Northern Ireland, 2011
© Pryor Center for Arkansas Oral and Visual History, University of Arkansas

Hoyt Purvis with his wife, Mary Purvis, at Wrigley Field, Chicago, Illinois, 2014 © Pryor Center for Arkansas Oral and Visual History, University of Arkansas

#55: Hoyt Purvis with his wife, Mary Purvis, at Wrigley Field, Chicago, Illinois, 2014
© Pryor Center for Arkansas Oral and Visual History, University of Arkansas

Hoyt Purvis and his wife, Mary, with their dog, Austin, on Mt. Sequoyah; Fayetteville, Arkansas, 2014 © Pryor Center for Arkansas Oral and Visual History, University of Arkansas

#56: Hoyt Purvis and his wife, Mary, with their dog, Austin, on Mt. Sequoyah; Fayetteville, Arkansas, 2014
© Pryor Center for Arkansas Oral and Visual History, University of Arkansas

Hoyt Purvis with his wife, Mary Purvis, and Pork Chop, the University of Arkansas Razorback mascot, at the Peabody Hotel in Memphis for the game against Kansas State University at the 2015 Liberty Bowl © Pryor Center for Arkansas Oral and Visual History, University of Arkansas

#57: Hoyt Purvis with his wife, Mary Purvis, and Pork Chop, the University of Arkansas Razorback mascot, at the Peabody Hotel in Memphis for the game against Kansas State University at the 2015 Liberty Bowl
© Pryor Center for Arkansas Oral and Visual History, University of Arkansas

Hoyt Purvis (2nd from right) with David Pryor, Steve Smith, Skip Rutherford, and Barbara Pryor at the Blair Center Legacy Conference; Carnall Hall, University of Arkansas at Fayetteville campus, September 2015 © Pryor Center for Arkansas Oral and Visual History, University of Arkansas

#58: Hoyt Purvis (2nd from right) with David Pryor, Steve Smith, Skip Rutherford, and Barbara Pryor at the Blair Center Legacy Conference; Carnall Hall, University of Arkansas at Fayetteville campus, September 2015
© Pryor Center for Arkansas Oral and Visual History, University of Arkansas

Hoyt Purvis with (from left) his daughters, Camille Purvis Dawson and Pamela Purvis Hatcher, and his sister, Peggy Sue Purvis Mullen; Fayetteville, Arkansas, 2016 © Pryor Center for Arkansas Oral and Visual History, University of Arkansas

#59: Hoyt Purvis with (from left) his daughters, Camille Purvis Dawson and Pamela Purvis Hatcher, and his sister, Peggy Sue Purvis Mullen; Fayetteville, Arkansas, 2016
© Pryor Center for Arkansas Oral and Visual History, University of Arkansas

Hoyt Purvis with his grandchildren, Duke Dawson (left) and Sienna Dawson, on safari in South Africa, 2015 © Pryor Center for Arkansas Oral and Visual History, University of Arkansas

#60: Hoyt Purvis with his grandchildren, Duke Dawson (left) and Sienna Dawson, on safari in South Africa, 2015
© Pryor Center for Arkansas Oral and Visual History, University of Arkansas

Purvis family reunion and 75th birthday celebration for Hoyt Purvis (2nd row, 3rd from left); Hot Springs, Arkansas, 2015 © Pryor Center for Arkansas Oral and Visual History, University of Arkansas

#61: Purvis family reunion and 75th birthday celebration for Hoyt Purvis (2nd row, 3rd from left); Hot Springs, Arkansas, 2015
© Pryor Center for Arkansas Oral and Visual History, University of Arkansas

Hoyt Purvis presented with a framed Baltimore Orioles banner signed by University of Arkansas Fulbright scholars on the occasion of his retirement and in conjunction with the 70th anniversary of the Fulbright Program; spring 2016 © Pryor Center for Arkansas Oral and Visual History, University of Arkansas

#62: Hoyt Purvis presented with a framed Baltimore Orioles banner signed by University of Arkansas Fulbright scholars on the occasion of his retirement and in conjunction with the 70th anniversary of the Fulbright Program; spring 2016
© Pryor Center for Arkansas Oral and Visual History, University of Arkansas

#63: Hoyt Purvis and his two grandsons, Barrett and Wells Hatcher
© Pryor Center for Arkansas Oral and Visual History, University of Arkansas

#64: Hoyt Purvis grilling hamburgers; Hot Springs, Arkansas, 2016
© Pryor Center for Arkansas Oral and Visual History, University of Arkansas

Still frame from Pryor Center video interview with Hoyt Purvis; Fayetteville, Arkansas, 2016 © Pryor Center for Arkansas Oral and Visual History, University of Arkansas

#65: Still frame from Pryor Center video interview with Hoyt Purvis; Fayetteville, Arkansas, 2016
© Pryor Center for Arkansas Oral and Visual History, University of Arkansas

#66: Still frame from Pryor Center video interview with Hoyt Purvis; Fayetteville, Arkansas, 2016
© Pryor Center for Arkansas Oral and Visual History, University of Arkansas

#67: Still frame from Pryor Center video interview with Hoyt Purvis; Fayetteville, Arkansas, 2016
© Pryor Center for Arkansas Oral and Visual History, University of Arkansas