Jimmy Jack Hatcher

A celebration of life for Jimmy Jack Hatcher, 82, of Gainesville, is set for 11:00 AM Wednesday, June 26, 2019, at the First Baptist Church with Rev. John Fleming officiating.

Jim was born on November 23, 1936 in Gainesville to Fred Hatcher and Rose (Lavender) Hatcher. He passed away on June 18, 2019 in Denton after a lengthy struggle with pneumonia.

Jim attended and graduated from Gainesville High School in 1955. He then went on to graduate from Baylor Law School with his Juris Doctorate degree in 1960. He was a County Attorney for Cooke County and began his private practice with L.V. Henry, whom he looked upon as a father image, as well as legal mentor. Jim also held the office of District Attorney for Wise, Cooke, and Jack Counties.

Jim was elected Mayor of Gainesville in 1993 and served until 1997. His proudest accomplishment as mayor was building the War Memorial at Leonard Park, which was dedicated on November 11, 1996. Many citizens asked him to run for a second term, but he felt his accomplishments throughout his term brought an impact to the city that could possibly not be repeated.

Just a few weeks before his death, Jim sold his law office on California St. and never got to practice in his new location at the Sullivant Building.

Jim enjoyed playing golf and flying his many airplanes over the years. There are numerous stories about how Jim felt a great deal of pride knowing he was able to turn his plane into an "Angel Flight" to help strangers and people he knew without asking to be reimbursed for any fuel or time.

Jim married Margaret (Elkins) Hatcher. They had two sons, Jeff and Matt. Both children lost their lives in separate car accidents, Jeff at 22 and Matt at 16. This was very difficult on both of them. Jim was also preceded in death by Margaret in 2009 and his parents.

He is survived by his wife Rebecca "Becky" Carr Hatcher, whom he had married on January 11, 2011. They shared their love of their 200 acre Black Angus cattle ranch near Moss Lake until his passing.

In lieu of flowers, the family requests donations be made to North Central Texas College Foundation Jimmy Jack Hatcher, Attorney at Law, Memorial Scholarship. This scholarship has been set up to benefit the "C" graduate from Gainesville High School, which was always his dream.

Becky and his family wish to express their gratitude for all the kind words, letters, texts, and comments they have received over the past week of Jim's passing.