Dr. Frances Downing Hunter

Dr. Frances Downing Hunter
Beloved and revered Associate Professor of English at Arkansas State University since 1967, Dr. Frances Downing Hunter died November 17th at her home in Jonesboro, Arkansas with her husband, Dr. Franklin Adams, and her beloved pet poodle, Odie, by her side.
Dr. Hunter was an accomplished writer whose works included poetry, prose, fiction, and non-fiction. A Bob Dylan scholar, Dr. Hunter believed him to be “one of the foremost writers of the 21st Century,” a view validated this year when he was awarded the Nobel Prize for Literature. Dr. Hunter is a published author and editor of several works on Dylan. Her latest endeavor was as contributor to and editor of Professing Dylan, a collection of writings by various authors published shortly before Dr. Hunter’s death. Her novel, Delta Ridge, is to be published posthumously. Dr. Hunter holds academic degrees from Arkansas State University, The University of Memphis and The University of Mississippi. She also studied at Oxford University in England. In addition to her tenure as Associate Professor at Arkansas State University, she served for five years as Director of Development. From 1986-1991, she was Vice President of Institutional Advancement at Georgia College in Milledgeville, Georgia. Dr. Hunter loved interiors and was co-owner of Downing’s Shop for Bed & Bath, and Red Hat.
Born in 1939 in Hoxie, Arkansas, Dr. Hunter’s parents, Allen Brooks Downing and Lovis Howell Downing worked in the family businesses, Downing and Company, which included Downing Mercantile and Downing Ice Cream Company, and The Flower Basket. Additionally, her father worked for the Railway Express. Both preceded Dr. Hunter in death. She is survived by her husband, Dr. Franklin Adams of Memphis Tennessee; three children, Mike DeLoache, Lisa Melton Jackson and Scott Hunter, Jr. (all of Jonesboro). She has ten grandchildren, and two great grandchildren. For nearly 20 years she has enjoyed her stepchildren and their families: Emily Davis, Franklin Adams, Lee Nichols, Meriwether Nichols, Phoebe Adams and Will Adams. Also, surviving her are two siblings; Terrell Henry Downing of Hoxie and Dr. Suzanne Gibbard Blackburn of Jonesboro,
Dr. Hunter was a member of St Mary’s Episcopal Cathedral in Memphis, Tennessee. Prior to joining St. Mary’s, she was a member of First United Methodist Church, Jonesboro where she was an Adult Sunday School teacher. As President of the Jonesboro Junior Auxiliary, she worked with Betty Bumpers, the First Lady of Arkansas on Every Child by ’74.
A Memorial Service will be held at First United Methodist Church in Jonesboro on Monday, November 28th at 11:00 A.M. Officiating will be Reverend John Miles, pastor of First United Methodist Church, and Dean Andy Andrews of St. Mary’s Cathedral. Emerson Funeral Home in charge.
In lieu of flowers, please consider a memorial gift to the Dr. Frances Downing Hunter Scholarship Endowment c/o Arkansas Community Foundation, 1400 West Markham, Suite 206, Little Rock, AR 72201 or online at www.arcf.org/HunterScholarship., or the Northeast Arkansas Humane Society in honor of her and Odie’s mutual love.