William Keller Hunter III
September 13, 1946 – June 16, 2026
Tupelo- William Keller Hunter III (Billy), age 79, died Tuesday, June 16, 2026, in Tupelo, Mississippi, following a brief illness. A lifelong resident of Tupelo, Billy is survived by his brother James Riley Hunter (Judy); nephews James Riley Hunter, Jr., John Hunter, Michael Paul Hunter, and Benjamin Bryson Hunter (Kory), all of Tupelo. In addition, Billy also will be remembered and missed by great-nephews and great-nieces: Mary Elizabeth Hunter of Tupelo; James Riley Hunter, III of Nashville, Tennessee; Anna Maria Hunter of Tupelo; Sam Hunter of Koscuisko; Bryson and Camp Hunter of Tupelo; great-great nephew Skye Michael Duff of Tupelo; and great-great nieces Elizabeth Rose of Tupelo and Jamie Hunter of Nashville, Tennessee.
Billy is preceded in death by his parents, James M. Hunter and Mary Sue Hunter.
Billy was born in Tupelo on September 13, 1946. He graduated from Tupelo High School in 1965 and later attended Itawamba Community College and the University of Mississippi. He worked in his family’s restaurants, chiefly Hunter’s Restaurant where he began working at age 24 following his father’s death. Later, Billy served as kitchen manager at Jefferson Place in Tupelo, a hugely popular local restaurant/bar in the 1980’s and 1990’s.
While in high school, Billy played saxophone and was the lead singer in The Monx, a band he and several friends formed – playing gigs at local dances and events. A talented tenor, he was a occasional soloist at Calvary Baptist Church in his youth.
Billy loved fishing and reading, and he enjoyed abiding loyalty from a close-knit friend group. Music was an especially consuming passionate interest. With encyclopedic knowledge of decades of rock muse specially quick to correctly identify the ‘next big thing’ in music. He also will be remembered for his brilliant intellect, which was the foundation for his razor-sharp wit. The Hunter family is forever grateful for the years Billy devoted to providing compassionate care for his mother, the family matriarch, Sue Hunter.
A private gathering of family and friends honoring Billy will be held on a future date. The family requests that donations in Billy’s memory be made to St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital, where his nephew was successfully treated for a blood disorder in the late 1970’s. Holland Funeral Directors are honored to be serving the friends and family.
