Hunter M. Gholson

Prominent Columbus attorney, Hunter M. Gholson, 75, died Tuesday, August 12, 2008, in Birmingham, Alabama. He is survived by his wife of 47 years, Hortense Jones Gholson; daughter, Emily Gholson Roberts (Tim); son, William Webster Gholson (Melissa); and five grandsons, William Hunter Thomas, Nathaniel Webster Bailey, Lucas Henry Bailey, James Andrew Gholson, and William Hunter Gholson.
Hunter was born in Columbus, Mississippi on February 19, 1933, the son of Leonidas Carter Gholson and Marie McDonill Gholson. His maternal ancestors were pioneer settlers and land owners east of Columbus.
He graduated from S.D. Lee High School where he was President of the Key Club and drum major of the band. Upon graduation, he attended college at the University of Mississippi. While at Ole Miss, he was President of ODK Leadership Fraternity, President of Phi Delta Theta social fraternity, national President of TEK Speech Fraternity, and elected to the Ole Miss Hall of Fame. During law school there, he held the prestigious position of Editor in Chief of the Mississippi Law Journal, graduating in 1959.
Hunter proudly served his country as an officer in the United States Navy, attending Officer Candidate School and Naval Justice School after graduation from law school. He was both the Legal Officer and Deck Officer of the USS Franklin D. Roosevelt, and later appointed to the position of Legal Officer for the Pacific Missile Range in California. He authored the Manual for Shipboard Administration of Justice, which was widely used and for which he received a special commendation by the Navy.
Upon his return to Columbus in 1959, Gholson began his practice of law, and was a founding partner in the firm of Gholson, Hicks & Nichols, where he practiced until August 2007. He was a prominent member of the Mississippi Bar Association, and was a member and past President of the Lowndes County Bar Association, a member of District of Columbia Bar Association, the American Bar Association, and is admitted to practice in all Mississippi courts, the United States Courts of Appeals for the Fifth and Eleventh Circuits, as well as the United States Supreme Court. His peers recognized his expertise in the field of trusts and estates, naming him in The Best Lawyers of America, as one of ten Mississippians expert in that field. Gholson is also listed in Who's Who in American Law and, until his death, practiced in the fields of corporate law and estate planning in Columbus.
Many causes have benefitted from Hunter's legal acumen. In his long career, he represented the Tennessee-Tombigbee Waterway Development Authority in the hard-fought litigation leading to the completion of the Tennessee-Tombigbee Waterway. More recently, he spearheaded the successful effort in Columbus of resolving the litigation with the Mississippi Secretary of State's office concerning the validity of the Sixteenth Section leases in downtown Columbus. He was also privileged in his career to argue two cases before the United States Supreme Court.
The University of Mississippi held a special place in Gholson=s heart and he tirelessly served the University in many positions, most notably as a Board member, member of the Executive Committee and President of the Ole Miss Alumni Association from 1988 to 1989.
Hunter was affiliated with Cadence Bank and its predecessors over a period of 34 years in various capacities, including membership on the Board of Directors, the Executive Committee, and Chairman of the Trust Investment Committee.
Gholson was the founder and director of the Stephen D. Lee Foundation and chaired the endowment fund for the Stephen D. Lee Home - Florence Hazard Museum until his recent retirement. During that time he received special awards from the Columbus Historical Society, the Columbus Board of Realtors, and the Mississippi Historical Society for the restoration of the Cartney-Hunt House. He continued to serve as a Trustee of the Frank Phillips Foundation until his death. In 1994, Hunter was honored for his work in the community by the Junior Auxiliary of Columbus by being named King of the Pilgrimage Ball.
Gholson was active in Republican politics for many years, serving as County Chairman, a member of the State Executive Committee, and on election committees for U.S. Senators Thad Cochran and Trent Lott, as well as the state committee for the election of President George H. W. Bush.
Prior to his death, Hunter was a long-time member of St. Paul's Episcopal Church, where he served as Vestryman, Junior and Senior Warden and as a lay reader.
Visitation will begin on Friday, August 15, 2008 at 1:30 p.m. at St. Paul's Episcopal Church, Columbus, Mississippi, with services to follow at 3:00 p.m. Burial will be at Friendship Cemetery. Pallbearers are P. Caldwell Debardeleben, M.D., J. Gordon Flowers, R. Todd Gale, George S. Hazard, Jr., Dewitt T. Hicks, Jr., Joey Hudnall, Willis N. Puckett, II, John E. Reed, Jr., M.D., W. Marion Smith, and Thomas F. Wolford, III.
In lieu of flowers, memorials may be made to St. Paul's Episcopal Church or Palmer Home for Children.