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Gary Havard
Gary Havard graduated from Arlington State College (now UTA) in 1953. He was active in the Corps of Cadets and rose to the rank of Lieutenant. He was a member of the renowned Sam Houston Rifles.
Upon completing his two years at ASC, he enlisted in the US Army and served for three years. His assignments took him to Fort Hood, TX, and to Supreme Allied Headquarters (SHAPE) in Paris, France. He was selected as Soldier of the Month, and he successfully completed NCO Academy. Gary attributed his success in the Army and future endeavors to the leadership and discipline he gained at ASC and his participation in ROTC and the Sam Houston Rifles.
Gary finished his college education at Texas Tech University and graduated in 1960 with a BA in architecture. He moved to Fort Worth, TX, and immediately fell in love with the historical environment of “Cowtown.” Over the next 30 years, Gary designed over $400 million in development, and helped spark a preservation effort to secure the heritage of Fort Worth.
Gary Havard was selected by the State of Texas to be the official artist for the 1986 Sesquicentennial. He created artistic posters for Texas A&M, Baylor University, University of Texas, University of Arkansas, and the University of Oklahoma and many other posters depicting Texas, American patriotism, and the historical heritage of institutions and places. He also designed the current logo for the University of Texas at Arlington.
Gary authored Cowtown USA, in which he documented the Stockyards of Fort Worth in a published photo-history with a computer operated multimedia program to promote the area. Gary commissioned the Bill Picket Memorial sculpture in front of Cowtown Coliseum. He was the first chairman of the Historic and Advisory Board of Fort Worth, and served for 8 years. He was the editor of the Tarrant County Historic News; a member of the Texas Society of Architectural Historians; and an honorary member of the Former Texas Rangers Association. He wrote the Historic Zoning Ordinance for the City of Fort Worth, and he was a champion and leading advocate for the preservation of historic Fort Worth.
Gary was commissioned by the Military Science Department at UTA in 1999 to produce a painting that would depict the military history of the UTA campus and the Corps of Cadets. Cadet Echoes portrays in detail a hundred years of history and tradition that only an artist with Gary’s love for both history and art could produce. Today his painting is proudly displayed at the University of Texas at Arlington. Gary Havard’s art brings passion and enthusiasm, inexhaustible warmth and color, and pride in the history of Texas to its viewers.
He and his wife, Fran, had three children: Courtenay, Joel, and Derek, and one grandchild, Sophia.