After serving in the ministry of God for over 70 years, Rev. Hollis Benton Hunt slipped away to be with his beloved wife, Mamie ODell Grimsley Hunt, before the throne of God and his son, Jesus Christ. Born on September 14, 1912, he left the world Friday morning, July 28, 2006.
One of 8 children during the Depression, Rev. Hunt was taken out of school at the age of 14 to work to help support the family. When he was called to the ministry of Christ at the age of 19, he enrolled in Cumberland Mountain High School in Crossville, TN and finished his high school education on a work scholarship. There he met his only love, Mamie. In 1933, while at Cumberland Mountain, he received his license to preach for the Methodist Church. In 1936, He continued his education at MTSU while serving the Manchester Methodist Mission. Many of his nights were spent studying by the light of a kerosene lamp. In 1937, he became the minister for the Woodbury Circuit and, in 1938, he and Mamie married. He completed his Bachelor of Science at MTSU in 1941 and moved to serve the Morrison-Summitville Methodist churches. During that time, he also served as the principal of Morrison High School. In 1942, he became a probationary member of the Tennessee Conference of the United Methodist Church. While at Morrison-Summitville, Rev. Hunt and Mamie welcomed both daughters, Marilyn and Karen. The journey continued to Dallas, Texas where, in 1948, Rev. Hunt received his Masters of Divinity degree at the Perkins School of Theology at Southern Methodist University. While in Texas, he served as the minister for the Kilgore Circuit. The Hunt family returned to Tennessee where Rev. Hunt became a Deacon in 1946 and an Elder in 1947.
Other appointments in the Tennessee Conference were Cowan, 1947; Crossville, 1948; Arlington Nashville, 1951; Lawrenceburg First, 1955; Lewisburg First UMC, 1957; Old Hickory, 1963; Waverly Place later to become Forest Hills, 1966; Pulaski First UMC, 1973. He officially retired in 1978, and returned to Lewisburg, TN to become the Minister of Visitation at Lewisburg First United Methodist Church. He was Minister Emeritus at Lewisburg First UMC at the time of his death.
Visitation will be held on Sunday, July 29, 2006 from 3-6 p.m. at the First United Methodist Church in Lewisburg, TN The funeral service will follow at 7:00 p.m. The Rev. Leland Carden and the Rev. Tom Smith will officiate. Burial will be in the Smiths Chapel Cemetery in Cookeville, TN on Monday, July 30 at 11:00 a.m.
Rev. Hunt was preceded in death by his wife, Mamie: his parents, Thomas Dee and Frances Melvina Hunt: four brothers, Lawson, Marvin, Wayne, and Kenneth Hunt; and two sister, Edna Ferguson and Pauline Cherry. He is survived by two children, Marilyn Don Wright of Lewisburg, TN and Karen Bob White of Bluffton, SC; one brother, Harrell Hunt, of Nashville, TN; Four grandchildren, Leanna Andrew Wright of Murfreesboro, TN, DeLisa White, of Brooklyn, NY, Bethany Bill Tillman of Nashville, TN, and Will Eileen Wright of Nashville, TN; three great-grandchildren, Haley and Tyler Wright and Mary Collins Tillman.
In lieu of flowers, the family request donations be made in memoriam to the First United Methodist Church of Lewisburg.BILLS-MCGAUGH Funeral Home, Lewisburg,TN 931-359-2521.www.billsmcgaugh.com