Person Record

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1 of 1977 J. R. Hunnicutt

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Name

Hunnicutt, J. R.

Othernames

J. R. Hunnicutt Sr.

Born

07/04/1894

Birthplace

Marlin, Texas

Places of residence

Austin, Texas
San Antonio, Texas

Father

Robert Smith Hunnicutt

Mother

Rosella Louisa Varnado

Education

Marlin High School

Notes

J.R. Hunnicutt was born on July 4, 1894, in Marlin, Texas. He graduated from Marlin High School in 1915 and distinguished himself in athletic competition as a member of its baseball, football, and track teams. He was a chainman on the Capitol Lands Resurvey project from 1915 to 1916. In 1917 he joined the Texas Rangers and was stationed for a time in Glenn Springs in west Texas. He was promoted to sergeant in 1919 and after strike duty in Aransas Pass, Texas, he resigned to become the purchasing agent for the France and Canada Oil Transport Company, also in Aransas Pass. He attended Texas A&M University from 1921 to 1923 before transferring to Baylor University for one year. He worked in various capacities, including night supervisor and purchasing agent at hospitals throughout Texas, and later he was a sales representative for medical and surgical supplies. During this time he was an active member of the Shriners.

In the early 1930s he joined the United States Treasury Department Customs Service and became one of its first pilots (the force consisting entirely of impounded aircraft refurbished by customs personnel). In 1937 he transferred to the Alcohol Tax Unit of the Internal Revenue Service and served as an agent and investigator, except for periods of leave for Army Reserve training and active duty, until his retirement from federal service in 1954. He began active duty on March 5, 1941 with the U.S. Army Medical Administrative Corps. He served in Texas, Illinois, and other stations in the U.S., and served with the 103rd General Hospital in England between 1944 and 1945. He was reassigned to Brook Army Hospital in San Antonio in April 1946. In May 1946 he resumed investigatory work for the Alcohol Tax Unit while maintaining reserve status in the Army, eventually attaining the rank of major.

After his retirement in 1954, he concerned himself with family and his ranch while maintaining life-long interests including Masonry and campaigning for a Texas Ranger Pension Act. He died on March 3, 1973 in Waco, Texas.