Hanchey E. Logue Jr., or “Mickey” as his family and friends knew him, died early Saturday morning, June 3, 2023, in his Auburn home. His wife, Glenda, and older son, Steve, were there with him.
Mickey was born on June 18, 1930, in Bay Minette, Alabama, to Pauline McLeod Logue and Hanchey E. Logue Sr. He often talked about the simple pleasures of growing up with his three younger brothers — John, Calvin and Lamar — in various small south Alabama towns, from Pine Apple to Greensboro to Evergreen.
After graduating from Evergreen High School, Mickey attended Auburn University. There he earned undergraduate and graduate degrees. Upon completing his education, he began a career as a newspaperman, covering sports for The Montgomery Advertiser and then The Atlanta Constitution. Later he worked the general news beat for The Birmingham News, where he covered the civil rights movement, among other things.
In 1965 he moved to Auburn where he joined the faculty of the then-fledgling Auburn University journalism department. Over his 30-year career as a professor, he was widely known as a conscientious and devoted teacher, as well as a beloved faculty advisor to The Plainsman, Auburn’s award-winning student newspaper. Many of his former students still recall his meticulous editing of their writing assignments. They also remember his earnest words of encouragement and wry sense of humor. A generation or two of distinguished journalists across the South were influenced by his teaching, and many of them owe their first post-college jobs to his recommendation. His own careful work as a researcher, writer and editor are on display in the multiple editions of “Auburn: A Pictorial History of the Town and College,” which he co-wrote with his colleague and longtime friend Jack Simms. When Mickey retired from teaching, Auburn University named their journalism library after him.
The only things more important to Mickey than Auburn were his family and his faith. He married Glenda, the love of his life, in 1959, whom he met in Atlanta. They have been together ever since. He was a devoted and caring father to his two sons, Steve and Kyle. Some of their fondest childhood memories include many post-Auburn-victory trips to Toomer’s Corner with their dad to hoist toilet paper into the oak trees or Sunday afternoon drives to campus to visit the eagle’s cage, often after getting an ice cream cone from Sani-Freeze.
Mickey loved dearly all the others who joined the Logue family over the years, whether by marriage, birth or adoption. That group includes Kyle’s wife, Ruth Ann; their six children, Hannah Perng, Molly Weitzel, Thomas Logue, Caroline Logue, Mary Claire Logue and Feleke Logue; two grandsons-in-law, Powell Perng and Matthew Weitzel; and two great-grandchildren, Amelia and Ellis Perng. Mickey was a devout Christian and longtime member of the Loachapoka United Methodist Church. During his long retirement, Mickey, always with Glenda, enjoyed following Auburn sports, working at the Food Bank and traveling around the world, usually with some combination of children and/or grandchildren.
The memorial service will be held on Saturday, June 10, with visitation at 10 a.m. and the service following at 11 a.m. Both will take place at the Jeffcoat-Trant Funeral Home located at 1500 Frederick Road. In lieu of sending flowers, please consider making a donation to the
Food Bank of East Alabama:
355 Industry Drive
Auburn, AL 36832.
Or you can donate online at www.foodbankofeastalabama.com.
