Mississippi State University
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Obituaries

Edgar E. Hartwig

research agronomist

Dr. Edgar Emerson Hartwig, longtime research agronomist at Mississippi State and one of the university's 13 Distinguished Professors, died May 11, 1996, at his Leland home. He was 83.

A Minnesota native, Hartwig received a bachelor's degree from the University of Minnesota and master's and doctoral degrees in agronomy and plant breeding from the University of Illinois.

He began his career as an assistant agronomist with the Florida Agricultural Experiment Station. He later was a research agronomist specializing in soybean improvement with the USDA's Agricultural Research Station in cooperation with the North Carolina Agricultural Experiment Station.

In 1949, he became research agronomist for soybean production with the Agricultural Research Station in cooperation with the Mississippi Agricultural and Forestry Research Station at Stoneville.

Known in agronomy circles as "Mr. Soybean," Hartwig is credited with developing 90 percent of the soybean varieties grown in the South. His research made soybeans a viable crop in the Mid-South and a leading cash crop in the U.S. A leading aspect of his work was the breeding of multiple-pest-resistant varieties.

Hartwig earned many awards in his long career, including the U.S.D.A. Superior Service Award and Distinguished Service Award. He was named Scientist of the Year in the Mid-South Area, 1987, and received the Agricultural Research Station Science Hall of Fame Award and the Delta Council's Researcher of the Year Award. He received the American Society of Agronomy's Agronomic Achievement Award in 1985.

In 1978, he was named Distinguished Professor at Mississippi State, an honor he shared with only 12 other faculty members. He was an adjunct professor of agronomy at Mississippi State at the time of his death.

Burrel S. Hood II

former security chief

Burrel Samuel "Bill" Hood II, former chief of security at Mississippi State, died April 11, 1996, at his home in Starkville. He was 85.

A native of Bond, Hood attended the University of Southern Mississippi. He graduated from the Mississippi Highway Patrol Training School in 1940, beginning a long career in law enforcement.

He rose through the ranks of the patrol, and in 1956, he became the first career patrolman to be appointed chief of the Highway Patrol.

In 1960, Hood retired from the patrol to organize a police department at Mississippi State. During the next 17 years, as chief and director of campus security, he developed procedures and policies that became a model for institutions of higher learning in the state.

The state-of-the-art communications system he designed was featured in national publications.

Hood retired from Mississippi State in 1977.

Carl Maddox

former athletic director

Carl Maddox, former director of athletics at Mississippi State, died Feb. 16, 1996, in Baton Rouge, La. He was 83.

Maddox was AD from 1979 to 1983, directing a comprehensive upgrading of athletic programs and facilities. He added two women's sports, helped build new track and tennis facilities, and was instrumental in the expansion of Scott Field.

Earlier in his career, Maddox, a native of Natchitoches, La., was a coach at high schools in Mississippi. He was an assistant coach at Louisiana State University for five years, helping to guide the Tigers to a national championship in 1958.

He later was LSU's director of athletics for 11 years.

He was a member of the Mississippi, Louisiana, LSU, and Mississippi State Sports Halls of Fame.

Haden E. McKay , Jr.

physician and mayor

Dr. Haden E. McKay Jr. ('30), physician and longtime mayor of Humble, Texas, died Jan. 13, 1996, at his home. He was 87.

Born in Bardstown, Ky., McKay moved to Humble at the age of 19. After graduating at Mississippi State, he received his medical degree from Chicago Medical School and entered practice with his father in Humble in 1938.

After military service during World War II, McKay returned home and served on the Humble city council for 10 years.

He later served for 24 years as Humble's mayor, stepping down just last year. All the while, he maintained a medical practice that spanned five decades.

McKay spearheaded extensive civic improvements in Humble and was well known for his countless goodwill and charity efforts on behalf of the area's citizens.

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