Elton L. Brogdon

1920 - 2007

Elton L. Brogdon, known to many as Bo, has left a multi-decade legacy of helping people and guiding young boys to young men through his extraordinary work with the Boy Scouts behind. Bo passed away with family and friends at his side Friday, June 15, 2007, after a courageous battle with cancer.

Funeral: 2 p.m. Monday, June 25, at First United Methodist Church in Arlington. Burial: Parkdale Cemetery. Visitation: 6 to 8 p.m. Sunday at Arlington Funeral Home.

Memorials: In lieu of flowers, the family requests that donations be made to 68 Alumni Association, Box 2045, Arlington, Texas 76004. The 68 Alumni Association was formed to insure the continuation of the work of the founding members and those who followed after that, including Bo.

Elton Brogdon was born Dec. 4, 1920, in Oil City, La. His family moved to Arlington in 1923, and Bo remained a resident the rest of his life and became an integral part of the development of Boy Scouts at the local level. He joined the Boy Scouts at age 12 and became an Eagle Scout with Troop 68 in 1938.

He graduated from Arlington High School and completed a B.A. degree from the University of Texas in Austin. He remained true to the "orange and white" all througout his life, even his last days. Bo became a land man for the oil and gas industry building a career with Sinclair Oil and Mitchell Petroleum Co. He wrote many mineral and royalty leases for Mitchell in Cooke, Wise, Montague and Tarrant counties. He built a great loyalty with his customers through his honesty and integrity. His word was his bond, always. By some accounts his ability to secure leases is legendary and even after his full retirement in 1987, he was asked to consult by different companies.

He met Lorraine Koch while at the University of Texas and they were married in 1949. They were married 51 years until the death of his Cookie. They had one daughter, Kimberly. Kim married Pepper Hitchcock and they gave Bo the joy of his life in his granddaughter, Loren Leslie Hitchcock, in 1987.

Bo began to advise a group within the Boy Scouts known as the Order of the Arrow. Although not the founder, there are many young men in the OA today who have never known the organization without Bo Brogdon. He held the national advisor position for the OA for eight years and was the regional chairman of OA for 10 years. Bo was awarded the prestigious Silver Beaver from the Longhorn Council in 1968 and the prestigious national Silver Antelope in 1984. The OA awarded Bo the National Founders Award in 1991. He attended every national OA conference since 1982. In his later years, Bo gave his time generously to Troop 68 and Troop 517, a special-needs Scout unit. He devoted countless hours to the completion of the "Scout Hut" at First United Methodist Church of Arlington. This man truly had Scouting spirit deep in his heart. Scouting will miss Bo Brogdon in many and varied ways. He was a legend in his own time and at the time of his death he was considered the oldest Scouter in Arlington. He is well known for the many times he was the head cook at OA events, national scout events and local troop events.

There will only be one Bo Brogdon, and those of us throughout the USA who knew him and loved him are better for it. He was charming and witty, and that could make you laugh and cry at the same time. There is no person who ever knew Bo Brogdon that who not have at least one "Bo story." He could tell stories of old Arlington that were accurate and sometimes amazing. His language was colorful and that was his personality, colorful and one of a kind.

Survivors: Daughter and son-in-law, Kimberly and Pepper Hitchcock; granddaughter, Loren Hitchcock; and brother, Kenneth Brogdon.