Oliver Bardes

Oliver Pape Bardes, formerly of Naples, Florida and Cincinnati, Ohio died April 2, 2011 in Little Rock. Born January 7, 1927 in Cincinnati, he was the son of Oliver Louis Bardes and Alice Pape Bardes of Cincinnati, Ohio and Palm Beach, Florida.

He was a graduate of Culver Military Academy (Class of 45) and a graduate of Williams College (Class of 1950), Williamstown, Massachusetts. Post-graduate studies were at the University of Cincinnati.

At Culver, he was a member of the famed Black Horse Troop as well as the 1942 Summer Calvary. His sports activities at Culver instilled in him a lifelong love of horses, sailing and the values of military life.

In June 1945 he entered World War II and was sent through basic training at Camp Joe T. Robinson in North Little Rock; this was his first exposure to Arkansas and he always remembered and commented on the hospitality and courtesies of the Little Rock USO volunteers to him and the other young soldiers.

In July 1946 he received his Honorable Discharge in Fort Meade, Maryland and subsequently entered Williams College. There, he was Commodore of the Williams Sailing Club and a member of Beta Theta Pi fraternity. He graduated with a Bachelor of Arts in Political Science.

From 1950 through 1981, he resided in Cincinnati, was active in the real estate business and created several companies including Decision, Inc. He founded the Ohio Society, an organization still active today that promotes ties among owners of Ohio farmland. Most dear to him was his pursuit of Arabian horse breeding and racing in the United States. He established Hawk Hill Arabians of Georgetown, Ohio in 1962. Hawk Hill Arabians subsequently produced the 1985 National Champion Performance Park Horse, Hawk Hill Firefly, earned over 40 awards in regional Arabian horse shows and bred Hawk Hill Sentry, winner of the Legion of Supreme Honor. Hawk Hill horses won pari-mutuel races throughout the 1980s at tracks in Delaware, Pompano Beach, Albuquerque and Tampa.

In 1981 he relocated Hawk Hill Arabians to Ocala, Florida and started a new company, Bardes International, commercial investment real estate brokerage based in Naples, Florida. He operated his business with daily enthusiasm and dedication until he was 79 years old.

In 1986 he was married in Palm Beach, Florida to Sheila Holland Cotton, an Arkansas native. They relocated full-time to Little Rock in 2009.

Mr. Bardes was a 33 year member of the Cincinnati Country Club, member of the Bankers Club, the University Club, and President of the Culver Club of Cincinnati.

In Naples, he was a dedicated Rotarian and a Paul Harris Fellow; founded the Naples chapter of the Beta Theta Pi Alumni Club and the Williams Alumni Club; and was a member of the Naples Sailing and Yacht Club, the Collier County Athletic Club and in Atlanta, the Buckhead Club.

He is survived by his wife, Sheila Cotton Bardes; friends in Little Rock and Naples, Florida; and family in Cincinnati, Vero Beach and Palm Beach.

Great appreciation goes to the staff of Pleasant Valley Living Center, Dr. Carla Anderson of the VA, and Dr. Gohar Azhar, UAMS.

Arrangements by North Little Rock Funeral Home, 1921 Main Street, 758-1170. Interment will be in Mount Holly Cemetery, Little Rock.

Online obituary and guest registry at www.nlrfh.com.