Nell Hunter

Funeral services for Dortha Nell (Burgess) Hunter, age 81, of Cookeville, will be Thursday, March 24 at 11 a.m. at the Cookeville Chapel of Hooper Huddleston and Horner Funeral Home with Brother Bill Goodpasture officiating. Interment will follow at Essex Cemetery. The family will receive friends at the funeral home on Wednesday, March 23 from 5 - 8 p.m. and again the following morning from 10 a.m. until service time. Mrs. Hunter passed away peacefully while surrounded by her children, grandchildren, and loved ones on Saturday, March 19, 2022 at Hickory Hills Care Center in Hendersonville, TN. “Blessed are those who mourn, for they will be comforted” She was born November 21, 1940 in Cookeville, TN to the late Carl Burgess and Kate (Essex) Burgess. As a child she was immersed in the activities of Appalachian self-sufficiency (planting, butter churning, crafting) in a farmhouse on the bucolic Pilot Knob. Her experiences there as the oldest of six children helped hone her innate organizational skills and kid-nurturing gifts that would later bless so many. As a student at Cookeville High School she was a fierce basketball player. Recently, Nell joked that her chronic back and hip troubles were possibly a result of basketball hip checks. During this time she met the love of her life, James Bryan Hunter, and on December 12, 1959 they were married at Collegeside Church of Christ. James and Nell began their family as James’s career in the Army, as a social worker, and in the Army Corps of Engineers took them on many hops around the country (Killeen, TX, Baltimore, MD, Chattanooga, Cookeville, Dowelltown, and Livingston). In each place, Nell created warm, loving homes for their children. She cherished her family and instilled in them an empathic, caring nature. Nell was a bit of a “super mom” and became a “2nd mom” to dozens of kids and teens in the Upper Cumberland. Nell served as a Girl Scout troop leader and perfected the art of campfire s’more making. Over decades as a volunteer, Nell made hundreds of trips to bring food to shut-ins, to run errands, and to take the elderly and disabled to doctor appointments and grocery stores. Jesus’s teachings of love, humility, and helping the poor and afflicted were at her core, and she kept the Beatitudes as her guide. In retirement, James and Nell returned to Cookeville where they gardened, took great joy in their grandkids, and battled health problems together. Following the death of her husband, she remained steadfast for her children, grandchildren, and great-grandchildren for as long as she could, even overcoming COVID-19 at Christmastime in 2020. She became dear friends with her “Golden Girls” at Hickory Hills and remained active in her assisted living community, especially playing Bingo (and winning) with her friends. In addition to her parents, she is preceded in death by her loving husband of 56 years, James Bryan Hunter; a sister, Judy (Burgess) McCrary, and a brother, Carl Glenn Burgess. Together with her husband, she raised five children, all of whom survive: Katrina Hunter of Goodlettsville, Doyle (wife, Sonja) Hunter of Lebanon, Sonja (husband, Chuck) Lawrence of Allons, Bryan (wife, Roselle) Hunter of Nashville, and Hope Hunter of Knoxville. She is also survived by two informally-adopted children: April (Hannah) Moore and Scott McCrary; six grandchildren: Zofia, Luca, Freya, and Amelia Hunter, Sasha White and Brittany (White) Wilson; five great-grandchildren: Adam, Elizabeth, Zoey, Kayden, and Brantley; and three siblings: Jerry Burgess, Sandra (Burgess) Pigg, and Dennis Burgess. The family would like to thank the wonderful staff at Hickory Hills Care Center in Hendersonville, Tennessee for their loving care and devotion to their mother. Memorial contributions may be made to the Essex Cemetery Fund, ℅ Cecil Essex, 755 Green Gate Lane, Cookeville, TN 38506. Hooper Huddleston and Horner Funeral Home is in charge of arrangements. (931) 526-6111. You may share your thoughts and memories at www.hhhfunerals.com