His name was Harrison Truesdell DeKay, but everyone knew him as H.T. He died Tuesday, May 19, in a Tupelo hospital while undergoing heart surgery, just one month shy of his 86th birthday. He was to family and friends a mythic character, once described as “the kind of patriarch I would follow into the parted Red Sea.” He departs this world ahead of his wife of 60 years, Martha Ellen; their children (and spouses) Mark (Susanne), Mike (Judy), and Sigrid (Ken); and five grandchildren.
Born in Pontotoc and raised in Jackson with his brothers Charles and Bob and his sister Annette, H.T. attended Hinds Junior College and then served in the US Army in the Territory of Hawaii before attending the University of Southern Mississippi, where he met Martha. In 1962, H.T. and Martha moved to Starkville, where he worked as a graphic artist in the MSU Public Relations Office and later spent a decade as Head of Publications at the MSU Extension Service.
H.T. will be remembered as a devoted husband, a father whose support of his children never wavered, and a steadfast friend and advisor one feels blessed to have. He will also be remembered for, as he put it, “never letting the truth get in the way of a good story.” He told more than a few good ones, that’s for sure. H.T. was respected both for his generosity to those less fortunate and for his willingness to stand up for his principles when required. He expressed his caring and concern fully, so that neither he nor others were left incomplete. Being around him, it was hard not to feel loved.
H.T. enjoyed the present, often remarking, “Enjoy every moment with the ones you love, because you don’t have any guarantee on today, much less tomorrow.” He’d want to tell you that today, again, if he was here. He’d also suggest that you not send flowers, not because he didn’t like them (he did), but because your investment could make a bigger impact elsewhere. So, in lieu of such expressions of sympathy, consider making a donation in his honor to his favorite charity, the Palmer Home for Children, PO Box 929, Hernando, MS 38632, palmerhome.org. Owing to current circumstances, no memorial service is planned at this time.
