Horace Winnell Hunter

Horace Winnell Hunter, known in his youth as “Winnell”, deeply loved husband, father, grandfather, great-grandfather, passed on Wednesday February 9, 2022. Horace was a deeply caring and thoughtful man, with lifelong dedication to his family and public service. He served as a career Foreign Service Officer, with a highly-decorated 37 year career with the US Agency for International Development (USAID). In his retirement years, his vocation turned to family business ownership in Cookeville, TN. Horace, along with his surviving wife, Patricia, founded and managed an apartment rental business in Cookeville since the late 1970’s. Importantly, a remarkable aspect of his and Patricia’s life and career was his passion for international travel, having traveled and worked in many countries in Africa and Asia, in fact, every continent including Antarctica. A native Cookevillian, Horace was born April 21,1930 to the late Walter and Mazie Bohannon Hunter. He grew up in the Poplar Grove Community and gained a vigorous work ethic through his farm upbringing. As a young man, he served in the US Air Force at various locations in the US and in the UK, where, throughout his entire life, he fondly recalled his time stationed in Ipswich, England. Honorably discharged, he attended business school at Tennessee Tech University, where he majored in accounting and then began a career working for the Federal Government at the General Accountability Office (GAO) in Dayton, Ohio where he met his wife, Patricia Gray. In his work with GAO, he oversaw US Government sponsored economic development projects across Asia and Africa. He accomplished this work from assignments in Honolulu, Hawaii, and Frankfurt, Germany. This work lead to an expanded career with USAID, where he lived and worked with his family in diverse countries including Tanzania, Liberia, Bangladesh, Mozambique, Kazakhstan and Hungary. He was serving at the US Embassy in Nairobi, Kenya at the time of the 1998 US Embassy bombing, and, as a survivor, assisted in the recovery after the devastation. Returning home to Cookeville after his career, Horace was a diligent and deep reader in his retirement years, who took pride and enjoyment in his classic books, including those of C.S. Lewis, Anatole France, George Elliot and Charles Dickens. A patient man, he made time for such intellectual pursuits, and shared his enjoyment of literature and books with his family and friends. He delighted in learning and helping others learn, and appreciated the success of others. As a business owner, his work and daily routine consisted of addressing the needs of his customers, humbly carrying out his work with a service-minded style of leadership where he was willing to carry out any size task, whether it involved a faucet repair or grounds maintenance, or larger matters of finance, accounting or investment. Above all, Horace was a family man with a deeply-rooted sense of duty. He cared with unflagging tenderness and kindness for his wife and four children, with a steadiness that held great meaning for his family. He was forever ready to offer guidance and support and love to everyone around him, especially to those in anguish. He was sensitive to the needs of others, and had a generous sense of caring and always reached out to friends and family to ease any suffering or lighten any burden. His joy for life and generosity will be remembered by those who knew him. He is survived by his wife of 64 years Patricia, brother Joe Hunter of Huntsville, AL, daughters Robin Preston and her husband Gary Preston of Nashville, Paige Hunter of Cookeville, and March Doran and her husband Michael Doran of Franklin, and son Mark Hunter and his wife Marybeth Hunter of Washington DC. He is also survived by seven grandchildren and two great-grandchildren. Funeral services with military honors will be at 3 p.m. Sunday February 13 at the Cookeville Chapel of Hooper Huddleston and Horner Funeral Home. His family will receive friends Sunday from 1 p.m. until time of services. Memorial contributions may be made to St. Jude Children's Research Hospital, www.stjude.org. Hooper Huddleston and Horner Funeral Home is in charge of arrangements. (931)526-6111 Share your thoughts and memories at www.hhhfunerals.com.