Clifford Ragsdale Hope
Born: December 21, 1923. Died: February 11, 2010.
Clifford Ragsdale Hope, Jr., was born December 21, 1923, in Garden City to Clifford R. and Pauline Elizabeth (Sanders) Hope. He attended local schools and a year of college before applying for the Enlisted Reserve Corps. He was assigned to the 16th Field Artillery Observation Battalion. His service in World War II included a year and a half in Europe. He married Dolores Sulzman on December 30, 1948, they had five daughters and one son.
After the war Hope graduated from Harvard College and Washburn Law School. He returned to Garden City in 1950, where he practiced law for more than 40 years. Hope was involved in politics for much of his life, serving as a member of the Kansas State Senate, as a Finney County commissioner, and on the U.S. State Department Advisory Committee on Voluntary Foreign Aid, which was involved in helping the needy around the world.
An avid historian, Hope was active in the early years of the Finney County Historical Society, serving as president in 1970. He was the author of three books, Growing Up in the Wartime Army, a memoir; Quiet Courage, a biography of his father, a U.S. congressman; and a biography of Judge William Easton Hutchison.He was the author of three books, Growing Up in the Wartime Army, a memoir; Quiet Courage, a biography of his father, a U.S. congressman; and a biography of Judge William Easton Hutchison.
He served on the Kansas Historical Foundation Board of Directors, as chair from 1980 to 1990, and president from 1977 to 1978.
He died February 11, 2010, in Garden City.
Entry: Hope, Clifford Ragsdale
Author: Kansas Historical Society
Author information: The Kansas Historical Society is a state agency charged with actively safeguarding and sharing the state's history.
Date Created: October 2016
Date Modified: October 2016
The author of this article is solely responsible for its content.
