Bruce Hoblitzell (June 25, 1887 – August 11, 1970) was mayor of

Louisville, Kentucky Louisville is the List of cities in Kentucky, most populous city in the Commonwealth of Kentucky, sixth-most populous city in the Southeastern United States, Southeast, and the list of United States cities by population, 27th-most-populous city ...

, from 1957 to 1961. He also served as sheriff of

Jefferson County, Kentucky Jefferson County is a county located in the north central portion of the U.S. state of Kentucky. As of the 2020 census, the population was 782,969. It is the most populous county in the commonwealth (with more than twice the population of sec ...

Early life

Bruce Hoblitzell was born in 1887, in

. He was raised in Louisville and graduated from

duPont Manual High School duPont Manual High School is a Magnet school, public magnet high school located in the Old Louisville neighborhood of Louisville, Kentucky, United States. It serves students in grades ninth grade, 9–twelfth grade, 12. It is a part of the Jeffe ...

. He graduated from the

Kentucky Military Institute The Kentucky Military Institute (KMI) was a military University-preparatory school, preparatory school in Lyndon, Kentucky, and Venice, Florida, in operation from 1845 to 1971. Founding One of the oldest traditional military prep schools in th ...

in 1905.

Career

From 1906 to 1912, Hoblitzell worked at the Kentucky Heating Company. He formed the McClellan-Hoblitzell Realty Company with J. A. McClellan in 1912. The company was dissolved in 1919 and became the Bruce Hoblitzell Realtors and Insurance Agency. He was elected sheriff of Jefferson County in 1953. On November 5, 1957, he was elected mayor on the Democratic Party ticket, defeating Republican Robert B. Diehl by about ten thousand votes. He served until November 1961. He was nicknamed "Mr. Hobby". Hoblitzell was a member of the board and served as president of the Kosair Crippled Children's Hospital for 9 years. He also served as president of the Louisville Board of Trade for three years. He was a director of the Louisville Industrial Foundation and was a board member of the Metropolitan Sewer District from 1937 to 1954. He was also a member of the Mayor's War Housing Committee. He was president of both the Louisville and Kentucky Real Estate Boards.

Personal life

Hoblitzell married Irene Oatley Forbes of Louisville on January 31, 1910. They had a son and two daughters, Bruce Hoblitzell Jr., Mrs. Leo K. Broecker and Mrs. Charles Greenwood. As of 1953, he lived at 1415 St. James Court in Louisville. Hoblitzell suffered a

stroke Stroke is a medical condition in which poor cerebral circulation, blood flow to a part of the brain causes cell death. There are two main types of stroke: brain ischemia, ischemic, due to lack of blood flow, and intracranial hemorrhage, hemor ...

in December 1962 and remained bedridden. He died on August 11, 1970, at his home in Louisville. Hoblitzell was buried in

Cave Hill Cemetery Cave Hill Cemetery is a Victorian era National Cemetery and arboretum located at Louisville, Kentucky. Its main entrance is on Baxter Avenue and there is a secondary one on Grinstead Drive. It is the largest cemetery by area and number of buri ...

Awards

In 1956, Hoblitzell received the Kentucky Medical Association's Auxiliary's first health citation award for his work with the Kosair Crippled Children's Hospital and "for promoting the health and welfare of the prisoners at the Jefferson County jail" while he was sheriff.

References

1887 births 1970 deaths Mayors of Louisville, Kentucky DuPont Manual High School alumni Burials at Cave Hill Cemetery 20th-century mayors of places in Kentucky American real estate brokers {{Louisville-stub