Thomas Kenneth Hunter, of Nacogdoches, TX, died April 13th, 2011 in the arms of his loving family. He was born in Bixby, Oklahoma, February 6th, 1933, the son of Fredrick Thomas Hunter and Selma Oma Thornton Hunter. He was the eldest of three children.
He graduated from Bixby High School where he was in the band and played basketball. He also raised and showed beef cattle and helped run the family dairy farm.
Thomas Kenneth Hunter
He pursued his Bachelor’s of Science in Agricultural Education at Oklahoma State University, and joined the U.S. Army in 1953. After completing basic training he was selected to Officer Candidate School and became an officer. He was assigned to the 11th Airborn Division, followed by the101st Airborn Division and was stationed in Fort Cambell, KY. While there he met Marie Ann Outlaw of Clarksville, TN, and they married in 1956. He continued serving his country in the 49th Armored Division in the Army National Guard.
He earned his Masters in Agricultural Economics from Oklahoma State and his PhD in Agricultural Economics from the University of Tennessee. om and Marie moved to Nacogdoches in 1969 where he started teaching Economics at Stephen F. Austin University. He retired from SFA in 1997.
While raising his children, he volunteered as a leader for Boy Scouts and local 4-H clubs. He earnd the 4-H Most Distinguished Volunteer for 1974. He mentored many other young people through his teaching at the university, and remained lifelong friends with many of them. The Business Fraternity of SFA students voted him as The Most Liked Professor several years in a row.
He loved the outdoors, enjoyed gardening, golfing, and was an avid fisherman and expert hunter. He was instrumental in establishing and managing several hunting clubs in Texas. He was a current member of the Phillips Slough Hunting Club.
He spent his retirement years with his wife enjoying friends, playing bridge, fishing, hunting, traveling, and visiting family. He was a member of the Fredonia Hill Baptist Church.
He is survived by his wife, Marie Ann Outlaw Hunter, two children and their families: daughter Sherrye Lynn Hunt and her husband, Daryl, of Kansas City, KS, and their children Trey and Taylor; and son Thomas K. Hunter Jr. and his wife, Becky, of Colorado Springs, CO, and their children Travis, Luke, and Anna Faye. He is also survived by his sister, Freddie Jo Lawhorn of Sand Springs, OK, and his brother, Phil Hunter of Osage, OK.
Visitation will be at Cason Monk Funeral home on Friday, April 15th, from 5-7 p.m., and on Saturday, April 16th from 9-10:30 a.m. Funeral service will be the Cason Monk Chapel, Saturday, April 16th, at 11 a.m. Graveside services and burial will follow at Sunset Memoral Park. He will be honored by the U.S. Military Honor Guard with taps and bagpipes.
