L.D. Hutt Jr., Ph.D.
Lemly David Hutt, Jr., known to friends and family as L.D., age 75, died on Sunday, December 4, 2016, from a progressive, debilitating form of chronic leukemia called myelofibrosis. Born on November 9, 1941, and raised in the farming community of Fouke, Arkansas, he was the youngest child and only son of Lena Mae Wright Hutt and Lemly David Hutt, Sr.
Dr. Hutt was intelligent, insightful, and funny. He loved all types of music, particularly blues and country, and jamming on his guitar with friends. He inherited the Hutt “cooking gene” and did most of the day-to-day cooking at home. As a husband, he was a true helpmate and handy man. He loved to get his tools out and build things, running the gamut from fences to foot stools made from scrap lumber. Like his grandfather, Hiram Hutt, from whom Dr. Hutt inherited his love of woodworking, his creations may not have always been pretty, but they were “hell for stout”.
Dr. Hutt loved growing up in Fouke, and he was proud of his Miller County heritage, which taught, among other things, an ability to improvise which he called “Miller County engineering”. His children were always free to seek advice from their dad and did so, and, if there were a question about grammar, everyone knew where to get the right answer. He loved history, especially Civil War and World War II history.
His famous Christmas letters were not always politically correct, but were always hilarious, and will be really missed. Throughout his illness, Dr. Hutt maintained his sense of humor, not complaining, but facing each day with grace, dignity, strength, and stoicism.
Dr. Hutt graduated from high school in Texarkana, Arkansas, and received his undergraduate degree in psychology in 1963 from the University of Arkansas. He earned a masters degree in 1965 and a Ph.D. in 1968, both in experimental psychology, from the University of Arkansas. Dr. Hutt then participated in post-doctoral studies in clinical psychology at the Menninger Foundation and at Topeka State Hospital in Kansas in the early 1970s.
Dr. Hutt worked as a clinical psychologist and Director of Psychology Training at the Tennessee Psychiatric Hospital and Institute from 1973 through 1977. Also, from 1973 through 1999, he served as an adjunct professor in the Department of Psychology at the University of Memphis. In 1974 he established the Hutt Psychological Group and worked as a clinical psychologist until illness forced his retirement in September, 2015.
Dr. Hutt was preceded in death by his parents, Lena Mae and Lemly David Hutt, Sr., of Fouke, Arkansas, his first wife, Barbara Lee Akin Hutt, and a sister, June Hutt Hamilton. He is survived by his wife, Kathleen Day Norfleet; children, Stacy Hutt, Dr. Rebecca Hutt Walker (Scott), and Lemly David Hutt, III, (Samantha); stepchildren, John P. “Jay” Arkle, III, (Marie) and Ginger Norfleet Coy (Bradford); grandchildren, Emily Rose and Audrey Virginia Wilson, Mae Elizabeth and Sadie Grace Walker; stepgrandchildren, Gabrielle, Evan, Graham, and Avery Arkle. Dr. Hutt also leaves a sister, Carolyn Hutt Penny (Charles).
In accordance with Dr. Hutt’s wishes there will be no funeral but a visitation will be held Saturday, June 10th, from 2:003:30pm at the Scoggins House located at 305 North Snell in Fouke.