Patrick "Pat" Wayne Hogan

The world has lost one of the truly great public relations masters, storytellers, and collectors of indispensable information of our time. Patrick Wayne “Pat” Hogan died February 18 at Tallahassee’s Westminster Oaks Retirement Community, his home of more than 20 years. He was 93. Pat Hogan was associated with Florida State University for 37 years, serving six presidents dating back to Doak S. Campbell in the 1950s. When he retired in 1990 as Vice President for Public Affairs, the University called him FSU’s “number one friend raiser.” A 1955 journalism graduate of Florida State, he administered the University’s governmental programs, community relations, alumni affairs, media relations, publications, special events, WFSU-FM and WFSU-TV. Earlier, he had served as Director of Sports Information, Public Relations, University Relations, Executive Assistant to the President, and Associate Vice President. A native of Little Rock, AR, he was a staff writer for the oldest daily newspaper west of the Mississippi, The Arkansas Gazette. Hogan came to Tallahassee to attend FSU in 1952. Shortly thereafter, he met and married Sarah Nell Hancock. They were married 58 years before Sarah’s death in 2012. Pat and Sarah welcomed a son, Wayne in 1956, who would also become an FSU graduate and work in the exact same position as his dad, Sports Information Director, more than 30 years later. Pat was a member of Gold Key, Alpha Phi Omega (national service fraternity), and the Circle of Gold. He received the Alumni Association’s Distinguished Service Award in 1985, was honored by the national Council for the Advancement and Support of Education in 1988 for his 25 years of distinguished service and received the Faculty Senate’s Mores Torch Award in 2011. In 1990, Hogan was inducted into the FSU Athletics Hall of Fame for his significant contributions to the national prominence of the Florida State sports programs. A Rotarian since 1963, he received the Tallahassee Rotary Club’s Frederick Clifton Moor Award in 1995 and was recognized for more than 50 years of service to Rotary International. Pat was a lifelong member of the Church, worshiping for decades at the Timberlane Church of Christ. In retirement, he was an active community volunteer, caregiver, and a certified memory coach. He was an Ambassador for the Westminster Oaks Retirement Community, and a founding member of the Westminster Alzheimer’s Action Group (WAAG). WAAG was recognized in 2015 for its role in the unveiling of the Florida Dementia Care and Cure Initiative. This initiative, beginning in Tallahassee, is engaging communities across the state. Pat and his late wife, Sarah, have one son Wayne (Dawn), three grandchildren, Lindsay Elliott (Jason), Kelly Bench (Jason) and J.P. Hogan (Elizabeth),and four great grandchildren Leighton, Dayton, Knox and Sutton. A Memorial Service will be held at 10:00AM on Friday, February 27, 2026, at the McGuire Center at Westminster Oaks. In lieu of flowers, donations in his memory may be made to The Alzheimer’s Project Big Bend 301 E Tharpe St, Tallahassee, FL 32303 (850) 386-2778 (https://alzheimersproject.org/) or the Westminster Oaks Foundation. Dayne Parker of Bevis Funeral Home (850-385-2193 or www.bevisfh.com) is assisting the Hogan family with their arrangements.

Tributes

Patrick "Pat" Wayne Hogan

August 12, 1932 - February 18, 2026