Charles Richard "Charlie" Hoogland

1930 - 2020

Charles "Charlie" Richard Hoogland 1930 - 2020
Founder of Family Video
Springfield, IL—Charles Richard Hoogland, 89, of Springfield, Illinois, died peacefully Thursday, June 25, in his home in Wequetonsing, surrounded by his family and his wife, Kathleen Knox Hoogland.
Growing up in Springfield, he attended Springfield High School and continued his education at Yale University. There, he was a member of the Yale Record and the Beta Theta Pi Fraternity. While at Yale, Charlie completed the Naval ROTC program. After his graduation in 1952, he then served as a 1st Lieutenant in the Navy during the Korean War.
On July 4, 1953, he married Kathleen Knox McLain in Springfield. They first met at Illini Country Club and were married for 67 years. They went on to have five children together. Some of his favorite hobbies included golf, puzzling, running the 4th of July 10-mile race, snorkeling, playing bridge, and reading.
Charlie started his career at Midstates Appliance & Supply Co., a company that his father, Clarence Hoogland, started in 1946. It was the first Wholesale Distributor to bring SuperBalls, mood rings, hula hoops, PopAir popcorn machines and Sony electronics to the Midwest. He then transitioned the company and became the Founder and CEO of Family Video. Entrepreneurial to his core, he began to expand the company by finding locations on his drive from Springfield to his summer home in Wequetonsing. He built Family Video to 800 stores with over 10,000 employees, becoming the third-largest video store chain in the country. Charlie was extremely proud of building a family business. His son, Keith, is now the CEO of the company and his grandson, McLain, is the first of the fourth generation working at the company.
Family and business were the two cornerstones of Charlie's life. He empowered his employees by treating them as if they were a part of his family. Examples of some of the company's benefits included paying for the college education of long-term employee's children, as well as the use of the company vacation condominium in Siesta Key, Florida among other benefits.
One of Charlie's greatest accomplishments was creating the Hoogland Family Foundation. The foundation has given substantial gifts to the Hoogland Center of the Arts, University of Chicago Hoogland Biobank, University of Chicago Immunotherapy research, Stanford University lymphoma research, Vanderbilt University, Hillsdale College, University of Illinois-Springfield, Springfield YMCA, and Little Traverse Conservancy among others.
Charlie was a true patriot, married on the 4th of July. He also spent sixty consecutive 4th of Julys in Harbor Springs with his family. On their 50th wedding anniversary, Charlie surprised his wife, Kathleen, by enlisting a group of 30 bagpipers to play at their celebratory party that he had met earlier that day.
He thought of himself as an entrepreneur. He was never afraid to fail and he was always the first to the party. He loved his wife, he loved his family, and he loved his country. Charlie died in the place he loved the most surrounded by his family. He will be missed by us all.
Charlie is survived by his wife, Kathleen, four children, Charles Eric Hoogland (Laurie), Keith Alexander Hoogland (Susan), Kathleen Knox Hoogland and Eliza Hoogland Reynolds (Tim), sixteen grandchildren and five great-grandsons. He was preceded in death by his daughter, Samantha Knox Hoogland and his grandson, Robert Stults Hoogland.
A memorial to be planned at a later date. Memorial donations may be sent to The Hoogland Family Foundation, Attention: Heather Hanrahan, 2500 Lehigh Avenue, Glenview, IL 60026.