Share This Article
Baxter County has lost one of its own.
Former Baxter County Judge Joe Bodenhamer passed away Tuesday at 74.
Bodenhamer served as county judge for two terms as a Democrat. He first took office in 1995 before leaving his position in 2004 after accepting a job as the first Homeland Security Division Leader for the Arkansas Department of Emergency Management. He also worked for the Federal Emergency Management Agency after Hurricane Katrina and Rita destroyed parts of the United State’s Gulf Coast region.
After working with FEMA, Bodenhamer served as the landfill manager for NABORS Sanitation. He was re-elected to office in 2008, where he would serve for another four years. In 2012, the county judge was defeated by Mickey Pendergrass. Bodenhamer would run for the county’s top position one last time as an independent in 2014.
Bodenhamer also served as a school board member for the Mountain Home School Board, with two years as president and two years as vice president. He is the former owner of Telephone Connections, the Lockeroom, and the Bull Shoals-Flippin TV Cable System.
Funeral arrangements for Judge Bodenhamer are being handled by Kirby and Family Funeral and Cremation Services.
