Anthony “Tony” Hogue, born on August 30th, 1962, passed away at age 60 on April 16th, 2023. Tony was a husband, a father, a son, a grandfather, a nephew, an uncle, a friend. He was a determined worker, fighter, and strong-willed individual.
Some of his favorite hobbies included hanging out with his friends (preferably around a bonfire), frisbee golf, and dancing when no one was watching. He loved listening to music. Notable favorites were Elton John, Aerosmith, and James Taylor. He loved telling stories and reminiscing with friends and family. The ordinary was extraordinary to him - he treasured his lawn mower, his stereo, and his coffee pot so long as they all functioned properly.
Since childhood, Tony has dreamt about outer space. He loved the sciences and learning about what more the universe had to offer. In his downtime, he would read and watch space-themed material, and occasionally visit space museums on vacation. One of his prized memories was meeting former U.S. astronaut Tom Jones. Tony would take possession of the big flat-screen TV in the living room for an afternoon just to watch a rocket launch. His favorite channel was the NASA satellite channel, where all you could see was the view in space from a satellite floating around. He was even caught one day accidentally sharing his screen from his phone onto the tv - he was watching rockets boosting up to take flight.
A big part of Tony’s life was his career. Tony was a truck driver (“transportation specialist” as he would call it). At one point in his life, he had travelled over one million miles accident-free. He claimed that he would be the first man to drive a semi on the Moon! He knew if he didn’t achieve that, he would wish for his children and grandchildren to become astronauts. Maybe one day that could still happen.
At the end of the day, Tony never really got to choose his outcome. On April 6th, 2023, Tony was in his semi coming home when he was recklessly shot. After 10 days of fighting for his life, he succumbed to his injuries and passed away.
He joked with his family that when the time came, he wanted to be blasted into space. The idea was never plausible; there was no way we ever dreamed of actually doing it. But what do you do when someone’s life was taken from them, and they don’t get to live out the rest of their wonderful life the way that they want to? You do what they ask. You blast them into space.
