| "Who Shot J.R.?" |
| Class of 1970 |
| Hoke Snelson |
"Who shot J.R.?" That question appeared on bumper stickers all across the country after the 1980
season-ending cliffhanger of Dallas, the gigantic television series on CBS. Until Dallas came along, the
name "J.R." was just another name, unless you were privileged enough to be at Berry Academy from
1968 through 1970.
Hoke Snelson came to Berry in the fall of 1968 and immediately became known as J.R. (we don't know
why), and with all due respect to T.V.'s Larry Hagman, Berry's original J.R. was just as popular as the
television version, without all of the chicanery.
Once he arrived on campus, J.R. became involved in many campus activities, such as Student
Government, Interact, The Lavendar Blue staff and he was elected as one of the class officers.
After Berry, J.R. attended Gainesville College and Georgia Southwestern. He worked in the highway
construction business for twenty years as a materials engineer and designer. From there he leaped
into the world of finance where he was a stock market trader and real estate investor for ten years.
Today, Hoke is the lead substance abuse counselor for the Drug Court Program in the 9th Judicial
District, Superior Courts of Georgia.
Hoke lives in his hometown of Gainesville, GA and has three children and one grandson.
season-ending cliffhanger of Dallas, the gigantic television series on CBS. Until Dallas came along, the
name "J.R." was just another name, unless you were privileged enough to be at Berry Academy from
1968 through 1970.
Hoke Snelson came to Berry in the fall of 1968 and immediately became known as J.R. (we don't know
why), and with all due respect to T.V.'s Larry Hagman, Berry's original J.R. was just as popular as the
television version, without all of the chicanery.
Once he arrived on campus, J.R. became involved in many campus activities, such as Student
Government, Interact, The Lavendar Blue staff and he was elected as one of the class officers.
After Berry, J.R. attended Gainesville College and Georgia Southwestern. He worked in the highway
construction business for twenty years as a materials engineer and designer. From there he leaped
into the world of finance where he was a stock market trader and real estate investor for ten years.
Today, Hoke is the lead substance abuse counselor for the Drug Court Program in the 9th Judicial
District, Superior Courts of Georgia.
Hoke lives in his hometown of Gainesville, GA and has three children and one grandson.
