Dr. Mike Huddleston

Memorial services for Dr. William Michael "Mike"� Huddleston, 62 of Cookeville, will be held Thursday May 23 at 4 p.m. at Cookeville First Cumberland Presbyterian Church with Dr. Charles McCaskey and Dr. Perrin Rice officiating. Interment will be in Shipley Cemetery. His family will receive friends Wednesday from 4 p.m. until 8 p.m. at the Cookeville Chapel of Hooper-Huddleston & Horner Funeral Home and Thursday from 3 p.m. until service time at the church. Dr. Huddleston was born March 28, 1951 in Livingston, TN to William Clifton and Martha Charlene Huddleston of Cookeville. He died on Monday morning, May 20, 2013 at his home. He earned his Bachelors of Science in Business Degree from Tennessee Technological University and his Doctorate of Optometry from the Southern College of Optometry. Over his thirty year career, he took great joy in providing the highest quality eye care to his patients. The personal relationship he developed with his patients was the focal point of his practice, and his greatest satisfaction came from helping others. Throughout his professional career, he was a member of the AOA and TOA and served in various positions at the local and state level. A lifelong sports fan, he participated in the Chicago Marathon, Music City Half Marathon, Bicycle Ride Across Tennessee, and served as a youth baseball and basketball coach. He was also an active alumnus of TTU. Seeking a way to give back to the University, in 1982 he approached the TTU Athletic Director to offer his services to assist Golden Eagle student-athletes. Spurred by this offer, TTU began instituting a program that eventually resulted in every TTU student-athlete beginning the year with a preseason physical exam that included a thorough eye exam from Dr. Huddleston. He served as the team optometrist for all TTU student-athletes for almost 30 years. He retained meaningful ties to the Phi Delta Theta Fraternity of which he was a member while at TTU. He enjoyed being the Chapter Advisory Board Chairman of the Tennessee Delta Chapter of the Fraternity at TTU, offering guidance and counseling to the men of the chapter. He then became Province President of Eta South Province of Phi Delta Theta Fraternity, providing oversight of five fraternity chapters and assistance to each Chapter Advisory Board, Alumni Club, and House Corporation that supported each chapter in the state. As a native Cookevillian, it was important to him to be an actively engaged member of the community. He was a member and elder of the First Cumberland Presbyterian Church, an Executive Board Member of the Cookeville Putnam County Sports Council, the Co-Chair of the Cookeville Haunted Half Marathon, a graduate of the Cookeville Citizen's Police Academy, the Chair of the Professional Division for Fundraising of the Cookeville YMCA, President of the Noonday Lions Club, and the Cookeville Jaycees 1987 Young Man of the Year. In addition to his parents, he is survived by his beloved wife of 38 years, Julia Hensley Huddleston(whom he married December 28, 1974 in Cookeville); two sons and daughters-in-law, Dr. W. Scott and Rebecca Huddleston of Johnson City, TN, D. Tyler and Becky Huddleston of Chicago, IL; a sister and brother-in-law, Bill and Susan Browning of Cookeville, TN; a nephew, Michael Browning of Cookeville, TN; a sister-in-law and brother-in-law Dr. Ronald and Saundra Killough, of Plano, TX; a nephew and niece-in-law, Christopher and Mandi Killough, of Plano, TX; and a niece, Ashley Killough, of Washington, D.C. Memorial contributions may be made to Firsts Cumberland Presbyterian Church 565 E. 10th St., Noon Day Lions Club c/o Dr. Garrett Sheppard 45 N Dixie Ave., or Heart of The Cumberland PO Box 2474 all of Cookeville, TN 38501.