Longtime business owner Huntington dies at age 77

Longtime Copiah County business owner and developer T. A. ‘Bubba’ Huntington, Jr., was buried on Monday in Hazlehurst Cemetery, after passing away on Friday, December 11, 2009 at home with family members by his side.

Huntington, who was 77 at the time of his death, loved doing business in Copiah County.  He owned Huntington Lumber and Supply Company in Hazlehurst, which he opened some five decades ago.   He served as a director on the board of Copiah Bank, N. A. for nearly 40 years.  His general contracting business is responsible for several historic improvement projects around Copiah County–most recently the Copiah County Courthouse renovation of 2008–and for the construction of hundreds of homes and several whole subdivisions in the area.

Huntington enjoyed the outdoors.  His Dixie Gardens homestead is considered a landmark along I-55, just south of the Martinsville area, with it’s red bard painted with a rainbow.  Hurricane Katrina nearly wiped away the iconic barn in 2005, but Huntington was able to have the structure repaired to nearly its pre-existing state a few months later, preserving one of Copiah County’s historic landscapes.

Huntington loved the sport of tennis and competed as long as he was physically able.  His competitiveness on the tennis court has carried over into it’s third generation, as his grandchildren–one of whom, Meg Huntington, is attending Millsaps College on a tennis scholarship– have taken up the game and prospered with it.

Huntington Lumber and Supply Company was named 2007 Business of the Year by the Hazlehurst Chamber of Commerce.  T. A., a firm believer in the importance of a vital Chamber, remained a steadfast supporter of the organization during his entire career.  Both of his sons, David and John,  have served as president of the Chamber and as directors on the Chamber board in recent years.

A complete obituary appears on page 3 of this issue of the Courier.