Dr. 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.
Tom graduated from Bixby High School in 1950 where he played in the band and was a star member of the varsity basketball team. He was active in FFA and raised and showed beef cattle and helped run the family dairy farm. He was baptized and a member of the First Baptist Church in Bixby.
Dr. Thomas Kenneth Hunter
Tom 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 a commissioned officer. He was assigned to the 11th Airborne Division, followed by the101st Airborne Division and was stationed in Fort Campbell, Kentucky. While there he met Marie Ann Outlaw of Tullahoma, Tennessee, and they married in Clarksville, Tennessee 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 University in Stillwater. During this time his two children were born. Tom earned his PhD in Economics from the University of Tennessee in Knoxville.
Tom and Marie moved to Nacogdoches in 1968 where he started teaching Economics at Stephen F. Austin State University. He retired from SFA in 1997.
While raising his children, Tom volunteered as a leader for Boy Scouts and local 4-H clubs. He earned the award for 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.
Tom loved the outdoors, enjoyed gardening, golfing, and was an avid fisherman and expert hunter. His passion for hunting led him to be instrumental in establishing and managing several hunting clubs throughout Central and East Texas. He was a current member of the Phillips Slough Hunting Club.
Tom spent his retirement years with Marie enjoying friends, playing bridge, fishing, hunting, traveling, and visiting family. He was a member of the Fredonia Hill Baptist Church.
Tom 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, Kansas, and their children Trey and Taylor; and son Thomas K. Hunter Jr. and his wife, Becky, of Colorado Springs, Colorado, and their children Travis, Luke, and Anna Faye. He is also survived by his sister, Freddie Jo Lawhorn of Sand Springs, Oklahoma, and his brother, Phil Hunter of Osage, Oklahoma, and numerous nephews and nieces.
Funeral Services will be held at 11:00 am Saturday, April 16, 2011, at Cason Monk-Metcalf Sunset Chapel. Interment will follow at Sunset Memorial Park in Nacogdoches.
Condolences may be offered at www.casonmonk-metcalf.com.
