Graveside services for Hettye Gene Loch Hunter, 90, of Houston, Texas and Gillsburg, Mississippi will be held at Hollywood Cemetery in McComb at 10:00 a.m., Friday, May 2, 2025. She died Monday, August 26, 2023, at age 90 at her home in Houston, Texas. Services are under the direction of Hartman-Jones Funeral Home.

Hettye Gene Loch Hunter was born in McComb, Mississippi, on January 21, 1933, to Eugene Devenney Loch and Mary Leah Taylor Loch. She is a graduate of McComb High School, Louisiana State University, and the University of Houston.

She graduated from McComb High School in 1949 at age 16. She graduated from LSU in 1954 with a Bachelor of Science in Chemistry and minors in physics, music (piano), and mathematics. At LSU she was a member of Kappa Delta Sorority and the rifle team. She earned her Master of Science in Chemistry from the University of Houston.

Hettye Gene taught for 11 years in the Houston Independent School District before returning to industry. An active participant in her professional organizations, she served on the boards of the SW Texas Section of the American Chemical Society, Southwest Science Forum, and the SW Mississippi Forestry Association.

She retired from Exxon in 1996 and remained an active tree farmer until her death. She enjoyed an active retirement. A lifelong contract and duplicate bridge player, she played in tournament competition. She played tenor saxophone in the Energy City Big Band and Memorial Drive New Horizons. Widely traveled, she has visited 24 countries including participation in the 1984 Texas Agricultural and Agricultural Business Leaders Goodwill Delegation to Russia and China.

Hettye Gene is survived by her two daughters, Martha Hunter and Leah Barnes (Richard) and her stepdaughter, Judy Lee Hunter. She was preceded in death by her two stepsons, Edward Albert Steven Hunter (Cheryl) and Robert Allen Hunter (Marlene).

In lieu of flowers, memorials may be made to The American Cancer Society.