Sicard: ‘A genuinely happy person’

story by Michael Tilley and photos by Joel Rafkin
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An estimated 700 gathered at a funeral service Wednesday morning (Aug. 10) to honor the life of Fort Smith banker Sam M. Sicard, something he refused to allow when he was alive, according his son.

Sicard, chairman, president and CEO of First National Bank of Fort Smith, died Sunday (Aug. 7). He was 70. A funeral mass was held Wednesday at 10 a.m., at Immaculate Conception Church in downtown Fort Smith.

Prior to the service, a funeral procession traveled down Garrison Avenue and past the headquarters of First National Bank. Sicard, as the long-time chairman of the Central Business Improvement District, is credited with helping to renew development along Garrison Avenue and other parts of downtown Fort Smith.

Sicard was elected president of the large regional bank holding company in 1977 and eventually added the title of bank board chairman. During his tenure, the bank saw remarkable growth. In 1989, the bank was formed into a holding company — First Bank Corp. — and acquired National Bank of Sallisaw, Citizens Bank & Trust of Van Buren, Bank of Rogers and Brown-Hiller-Clark & Associates.

Sicard was born into a family that began banking in Fort Smith in 1872. Sicard’s father, McCloud Sicard, was bank president between 1942 and 1977. McCloud Sicard suffered a stroke in in 1969, which pushed a 29-year-old Sam M. Sicard into the role of executive vice president. Sam M. had just graduated a few years earlier (1963) with a bachelor’s degree in business administration from the University of Arkansas.

“(W)ith the help and guidance from a lot of senior officers who had been with the bank for a number of years, my education was speeded up somewhat,” Sicard said during an early 2001 interview for a Times Record story.

Sam T. Sicard, son of the late banker, began a moving eulogy by thanking everyone for their attendance. He said the funeral mass is the only chance many have had to thank the late Sicard for his many decades of community support.

“He would not give anyone that opportunity when he was alive,” Sicard said.

But he did work to provide people in the community more opportunity.

Sam T. Sicard acknowledged his obvious bias before saying he believed his father is “one of the finest men I’ve ever known.” He said his father’s greatness was a result of his “genuine love” for the community, “devout belief” in the people of the region and his sincere humility.

He also said his father had many reasons to be bitter about life. As a young child, he lost the use of his left arm. In 2001, he lost his first wife in a tragic death, and a year later his 19-year-old daughter also died tragically.

“And yet, he remained a genuinely happy person,” Sicard said, adding that his father’s second wife, Sharon, was responsible for much of his happiness in recent years.

Sicard said he spent much time trying to figure out how his father remained so happy and optimistic about the world around him. Sicard said he believes the answer is that his father’s happiness “came from a true, open heart and a willingness to love.” On that point, Sicard said, is the lesson: Keep your heart open and happy despite the obstacles and tragedy that life may deliver.

Prior to Sicard’s eulogy, Father Harris reminded attendees of the story of Jesus trying to prepare the Disciples for his imminent departure. And like the Disciples, it’s difficult for the living to accept that Sicard’s death is not the end of his impact, and that it is now incumbent upon others to continue Sicard’s work.

“It’s our turn to step up. The leadership has been passed on to others,” Harris said, adding later that all in attendance have an obligation to “take his position and lead this community.”

The Sicard family greeted several hundred service attendees in a reception immediately following the funeral mass.