HARLINGEN — Friends remember Frank Boggus as a businessman whose vision helped develop the city into a South Texas economic engine while his strong Christian faith led him to support nonprofit groups touching the lives of the community’s residents.
Boggus, the owner of Boggus Ford who packed a Bible in every car he sold, died peacefully at his home Saturday morning.
He was 94.
Throughout his life, Boggus worked to develop the Ford automobile dealership his father Lewis Boggus founded in 1933 while serving on the Harlingen school board along with city board’s including those of the Economic Development Corporation and Valley International Airport.
Across the Rio Grande Valley, he was known for his philanthropy, supporting nonprofit groups such as the Salvation Army, Loaves and Fishes and the Harlingen Boys and Girls Club.
Meanwhile, he worked to launch the Boggus Education Pavilion at Valley Baptist Medical Center and the Ronald McDonald House in Harlingen.
In 2010, Valley leaders named him Border Texan of the Year, a distinction he shares with Texas leaders including former President George W. Bush, who won the recognition while serving as the state’s governor.
“I’m sort of overwhelmed. It’s wonderful to be chosen,” Boggus said at the time of the annual fundraiser. “My family seems delighted about it. I don’t think I deserve it but they asked me to do it. When I realized how much good it does for others, I agreed. I never dreamed of being chosen as Border Texan.”
At Christmastime, Boggus would stand at storefronts ringing the Salvation Army’s silver bell.
“The people of the Salvation Army are some of the most dedicated Christians on Earth,” he said during an interview in 2004. “It’s probably the greatest charity in the United States. I’ve been working on the board for 30 years and every year I appreciate them more.”
City’s ‘cornerstone’
For decades, Boggus contributed to political campaigns, helping mold city leaders.
“It’s a huge loss to the community,” past Mayor Chris Boswell said Tuesday. “He was like a cornerstone of the city of Harlingen. The city would not be the same if not for the vision he had. He helped shape the fabric of the community.
The entire region has lost a great friend and benefactor. He was not only a great businessman, he was a great philanthropist who supported so many causes and helped so many people.”
When Boswell won a seat on the city commission in 1998, Boggus was backing him.
“Frank was a good friend and was very supportive of me,” Boswell said. “He supported candidates with financial contributions but he never tried to tell you what to do and he would never ask you for anything. He would ask what he could do to help. He would have ideas and he would bring those ideas to me and we would talk about them. He was very interested in job creation. He was always trying to help the city of Harlingen and the entire region.”
Shaping political landscape
In April 1967, Boggus was serving on the Harlingen school board when he interviewed Connie de la Garza for the city’s tax assessor-collector job.
De la Garza, who landed the job, went on to serve as a city commission before winning the mayor’s gavel in 1998.
“There’s no question he was instrumental in the city growing in the right direction — always in the right direction,” de la Garza said. “He always supported what was right for the school district and the city. It was never about him, just about what was good for the city. The best thing about Frank Boggus is he was a first-class Christian man. God came above everything to him.”
More than 15 years ago, Boggus formed the Boggus Friday Lunch Bunch made up of a group of businessmen who helped shape the city’s politics, de la Garza said.
“It’s just a group of guys who helps find and supports commissioners to lead Harlingen in the right direction,” he said. “We talked about things, especially during political years, about the direction the city was taking. Anytime we would give financial support to a commissioner to run for office, up front we would tell them, ‘We will never tell you how to vote on an issue. We just want you to vote for what you think is best for the city.’ If they voted in a detrimental manner, we let them know if they did it again we would not support them again.”
Man of God
Throughout most of his life, Boggus worked to help transform the city’s economy while supporting nonprofit groups touching the lives of the community’s residents, Bobby Farris, a former city commissioner, said.
“Frank was a giant of a man,” he said. “He was a visionary. He could see how little things turned into big things.”
Boggus’ faith led him to support organizations such as Loaves and Fishes and the Boys and Girls Club, he said.
“Frank led a lot of fundraisers for a lot of nonprofits,” he said. “I believe he was God’s eyes and hands down here. Everything Frank did was driven by his faith. Every car he sold had a Bible in the grove box.”
In 1991, Boggus helped Loaves and Fishes open its doors to feed the poor.
“Frank went over there and served and washed dishes behind the scenes where no one could see what he was doing,” Farris said.
About 20 years ago, Boggus helped form a Bible study group after a Weslaco-based organization moved to McAllen, he said.
Today, the group meeting during lunch time Wednesdays at Valley Baptist Mission is made up of as many as 100 businessmen, he said.
“It sends a very powerful message when businessmen will stop what they’re doing in the middle of the week to study the Bible,” Farris said.
Celebration of life
On Saturday, Boggus’ family will hold a celebration of life at 10 a.m. at Wesley United Methodist Church followed by a celebration of life gathering from noon to 2 p.m. at Boggus Ford, 2521 S. Expressway 83 in Harlingen.
In lieu of flowers, memorial donations may be made to Wesley United Methodist Church or Wesley Preparatory School, Loaves and Fishes or a charity of choice.
Buck Ashcraft San Benito Funeral Home is in charge of arrangements.
Editor’s note: This story was updated to correct Frank Boggus’ father’s name.
