Harry Reagan, a former Jacksonville City Council member, has died at age 87. | Harry Reagan, Facebook
Published on July 24, 2026 at 2:47 pm
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Former Jacksonville City Council member Harry Reagan died Thursday at age 87 of complications from a stroke, his family reports.
Born in Georgia in 1938, Reagan entered the University of Florida as an agriculture major, working at the student newspaper, The Alligator. After serving in the ROTC during college, he became a lieutenant in the U.S. Army and married his future wife, Rita, in 1962 when he was stationed in Wiesbaden, Germany, during the Cold War.
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After military service, Reagan worked at the Tampa Tribune and Miami Herald before being hired by WJXT-TV, Channel 4, now known as News4Jax. As editorial director from 1967 to 1990, he presented the station’s editorials after the evening news.
Reagan then won an at-large seat on City Council in 1990, presenting legislation for issues like unitary city elections. He ran unsuccessfully for mayor of Jacksonville in 1995. He became public information coordinator at the Jacksonville Sheriff’s Office from 1995 to 2003, then served on former Sheriff Nat Glover’s unsuccessful mayoral election campaign in 2003.
After retirement, he served as chairperson for Tobacco Free Jacksonville. He also was president of the Jacksonville Historical Society (now Jacksonville History Center) from 1999 to 2001 and 2008 to 2010. He was president of the Friends of the Jacksonville Public Library from 2008 to 2012. And he founded the Jacksonville Broadcasters Association in 2015, serving as its president.
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Harry Reagan’s daughter, Danielle Reagan Wampler, passed away in early 2024 from cancer. His wife, Rita, passed away in August 2023. They are survived by daughter Denise M. Reagan, her husband John Hoogesteger and three grandchildren.
A celebration of life will take place Aug. 16 at the Jacksonville History Center on Palmetto Street.
