Mack Wayne Hampton

Mack was the second child born to Elvey and Martha Hampton and was raised in Sherman, Texas, except for a brief period in junior high when the family moved to Mineral Wells and Odessa where his father was a newspaper advertising manager. As a boy in Sherman, he had a paper route, and in high school, he worked at a men’s clothing store on the downtown square. He graduated from Sherman High School where he was a yell leader for the Bearcats.

Mack followed in his father’s footsteps to Baylor University where he earned a bachelor’s degree in business administration. He joined the Air Force ROTC as a junior and was commissioned as a second lieutenant at his graduation by President Dwight Eisenhower. During his senior year, he met Rebecca Ann McKenzie of Orange, Texas, at First Baptist Church in Waco. The couple married in June 1956 just a few weeks after his graduation.

Mack served in the U.S. Air Force as a radar observer in a Northrop F-89J Scorpion, an early interceptor jet of the Cold War era. His service took him to Houston, San Antonio, Waco, and finally to Great Falls, Montana. During these years, the couple had two sons: Dick (R.W.) born in Houston, and Jeff born in Great Falls.

Mack was honorably discharged from the Air Force in 1959 and the family moved back to Texas. They lived in Sherman briefly and moved to Richardson in 1961 when he took a job as a purchasing agent for Anderson, Clayton Foods in Dallas. As they did everywhere they lived, the couple immediately joined First Baptist Church of Richardson. In 1962 they had their third child, Martha Ann, who died in 1971 after a traffic accident. Mack left Anderson, Clayton not long after that and went to Baylor College of Dentistry where he was the student financial aid officer for 19 years.

Mack was a member of First Baptist for 62 years. He served as a deacon, an adult Sunday school teacher, and on various committees including finance and two pastor search committees. He was a dedicated hospital visitor, and on Wednesday nights he was often called upon to pray for those in need.

When he took early retirement from Baylor, Mack worked part-time at Dad & Lad’s clothing store until it closed, and he volunteered in patient transportation at Baylor Hospital. He was a volunteer tram driver at the Dallas Arboretum for 15 years and did that well into his 80s.

Mack was preceded in death by his parents, his brother who died when he was three, and his daughter. He is survived by Ann, his wife of 66 years; two sons and their wives, R.W and Lisa Hampton, and Jeff and LeAnn Hampton; six grandchildren; and seven great-grandchildren.

Memorial donations may be made in the name of Mack Hampton to The Great Commission Fund or The Children’s Playground Fund at First Baptist Richardson. Please text HAMPTON to 972-235-5296.