From 1906 to 1912, Hoblitzell worked at the Kentucky Heating Company. He formed the McClellan-Hoblitzell Realty Company with J. A. McClellan in 1912. The company was dissolved in 1919 and became the Bruce Hoblitzell Realtors and Insurance Agency.[1] He was elected sheriff of Jefferson County in 1953. On November 5, 1957, he was elected mayor on the Democratic Party ticket, defeating Republican Robert B. Diehl by about ten thousand votes. He served until November 1961.[1] He was nicknamed "Mr. Hobby".[1]
Hoblitzell was a member of the board and served as president of the Kosair Crippled Children's Hospital for 9 years.[2][3] He also served as president of the Louisville Board of Trade for three years. He was a director of the Louisville Industrial Foundation and was a board member of the Metropolitan Sewer District from 1937 to 1954. He was also a member of the Mayor's War Housing Committee.[2][4] He was president of both the Louisville and Kentucky Real Estate Boards.[2]
Personal life
Hoblitzell married Irene Oatley Forbes of Louisville on January 31, 1910.[2][5] They had a son and two daughters, Bruce Hoblitzell Jr., Mrs. Leo K. Broecker and Mrs. Charles Greenwood.[1][2] As of 1953, he lived at 1415 St. James Court in Louisville.[2]
Hoblitzell suffered a stroke in December 1962 and remained bedridden. He died on August 11, 1970, at his home in Louisville. Hoblitzell was buried in Cave Hill Cemetery.[1]
Awards
In 1956, Hoblitzell received the Kentucky Medical Association's Auxiliary's first health citation award for his work with the Kosair Crippled Children's Hospital and "for promoting the health and welfare of the prisoners at the Jefferson County jail" while he was sheriff.[3]
