Cloyd Pugh

Cloyd Pugh, Topeka, the man who issued Hug Licenses, is dead at the age of 84. A couple of decades ago, Cloyd Pugh decided that life really was all about relationships and that to be human, we needed a laugh and a reason to connect. In those 20 or so years, he handed out thousands of business-sized cards that entitled the bearer to hugs. “Four hugs a day is minimum for good health,” the cards said, and on the back was Mr. Pugh's name and address. Cloyd gave the cards to anyone who would take one, friends and strangers alike. Going out to a restaurant with him was truly an adventure as he went from table to table distributing his own brand of togetherness. Cloyd's family always suspected it was a way for the longtime widower to get people to give him a hug, and it was amazing how often the ploy worked. Born in 1920 in Trego County, Cloyd learned the values of the farm but left the rural life to pursue higher education at Fort Hays State College, Denver University and finally Washburn College in Topeka. In 1943, he married Carnie Tener, whose chemistry book he bought and whose margin notes helped him pass the course. Cloyd joined the Marine Corps not long after the birth of their first child, Dennis. As a lieutenant, he was badly injured at Iwo Jima, for which he was awarded the Purple Heart. Upon his return to civilian life, Cloyd finished a law degree at Washburn University and entered politics. He was elected county attorney of Ottawa County in 1948, the day his second child, Janet, was born. The third Pugh, Dale, was born in 1952, soon after the family moved to Salina, where Cloyd opened a law practice. In 1955, Cloyd joined the Postal Service and worked as a rural mail carrier until his retirement in 1981. Cloyd's kind heart and impish sense of humor will be missed by those who knew him, friends, family, fellow veterans, card playing buddies and especially his surviving family. His children, Janet Jones and her husband, Keith, and Dale Pug h and his wife, Debra Austin; his four active grandsons, Richard and Phillip Martin, Daniel Jones and Benjamin Jones and his wife, Melissa Neve-Jones; and his great-granddaughter, Eleanor. Cloyd willed his body to The University of Kansas Hospital and when it is returned in a couple of years, his remains will be interred at Half-Day Cemetery at Elmont. “Hello Yehudi, tell Virginia I've gone to bed.” Barnett Funeral Home, Meriden Chapel, is in charge of arrangements.