February 8, 2002

William T. Dillard died at the age of eighty-seven. Dillard, who was born in Mineral Springs (Howard County), was the founder of Dillard’s, Inc., one of the nation’s largest fashion apparel and home-furnishings retailers. From an $8,000 investment in a single store in Nashville (Howard County), Dillard built a premier retail chain with more than 300 stores in twenty-nine states. In 1999, Dillard was among the first four Arkansas business leaders inducted into the Arkansas Business Hall of Fame. Dillard often said, “Business without integrity is not good business—and in the long run will not be successful.”