Collin Chronicles, Volume 31, Number 1 & 2, 2010/2011 Page: 40
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receipt of $325,000 - money she successfully procured from Hunter T. in court only two
years after the Depression closed banks and swept accounts away.
Ammie's next tragedy emerged early in 1933, when her only son George Hunter
died on January 31. According to medical reports, he died of esophageal septicemia
and stomatitis. These illnesses apparently resulted from an alcohol addiction fostered
by the odd relationship he built over the years with Hunter T. George Hunter was only
29 years old when he died, having been married less than six years. His widow,
Johnny, remained at the Farmstead with Mary Alice and Ammie for another year before
returning to her parent's home in Dallas to live.
Her departure was precipitated by the death of her hostess, Mary Alice Farrell.
Mary Alice died of a cerebral hemorrhage due to arteriosclerosis on August 26, 1934.
Like Ammie's son, she was buried at Restland Memorial Cemetery in Dallas. Several
prominent Planoites served as pall bearers for her service, and her tombstone read, "I
have always tried to be just to my fellow man."
Surprisingly, Mary Alice didn't will the Farmstead to her daughter. While she
allowed Ammie to live there as a life estate until her own death, Mary Alice actually left
the house to two organizations, the Buckner Orphans Home and the National
Benevolent Association of the Christian Church in St. Louis, which ran the Juliette
Foster Home for Children. She also left her car, a brand-new 1934 Chevrolet Coupe, to
foreman Earnest Sanders. To Johnny Lynch she left $15,000, along with a monthly
stipend of $25, to last as long as she remained single.
With Mary Alice gone, Ammie moved back into the house to start a new phase in
her life. She settled easily into the house, since most jobs were easily tended to by
Earnest Sanders and his soon-to-be-wife, Juanita, who did everything in the house
except cook. (That job went to Ammie, although apparently those who knew her would
have preferred matters be otherwise; only two years prior to this, Ammie received a
cookbook inscribed, "To Ammie, from her friends that can't eat her cooking.")
1935 started out as a stellar year. Hunter T. married his girlfriend, Doris Morrison,
in Ellis County and the couple moved to Dallas to live with her mother. His businesses
continued to thrive and Doris shared in his ideas and planning strategies. Earnest
Sanders married his sweetheart, Juanita Watkins, and the couple remained at the
Farmstead. Dudley returned to Piano permanently to help his wife around the
Farmstead and bought the first tractor to till the rich farm land. They updated the 14-
room farmhouse with a sleeping porch, flagstone walkways, window jalousies, mantel
reconstruction, and other details. Together Dudley and Ammie started a new life, one
focused more on local livestock, which would change Ammie's life drastically from then
on.
Ammie endured yet another transition in November, 1936, when her stepfather
Hunter Thomas died of a cerebral hemorrhage complicated by renal disease and
hypertension. Hunter left his entire estate, worth over $100,000, to his new wife Doris.
His remaining family sued for part of the estate in 1937 but did not win.
In contrast, Ammie sought her own fortune elsewhere. The first inklings of change
came in 1939 when she paid the $5 lifetime membership fee for the AmericanPAGE 40
Vol 31 No 2:2010-2011
COLLIN CHRONICLES
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Collin County Genealogical Society. Collin Chronicles, Volume 31, Number 1 & 2, 2010/2011, periodical, 2011; Plano, Texas. (https://texashistory.unt.edu/ark:/67531/metapth238552/m1/42/: accessed March 28, 2024), University of North Texas Libraries, The Portal to Texas History, https://texashistory.unt.edu; crediting Collin County Genealogical Society.