Willis Newbell Puckett II died in his element.

Puckett, 79, owner of Memorial Funeral Home in Columbus, was deep in the Alaskan wilderness Sunday on a bear hunt when a suspected heart attack claimed his life.

He was hunting with guide Joe Klutsch, owner of Katmai Guide Service out of King Salmon, Alaska, when he became ill, said Mike Waters, a longtime friend of Puckett’s. Guides attempted to revive Puckett, he said, but were unsuccessful.

As of Monday, Puckett’s body remained in the wilderness as guides transported him back to King Salmon, Waters added. Paulette Moore, an employee at Memorial Funeral Home, said Puckett then would be transported to Anchorage before returning to Columbus.

“Willis loved the outdoors. He loved hunting. If he had to pick a time to leave this earth, I think this was an appropriate time,” said Waters.” He went out doing what he wanted to do and what he enjoyed the most.”

The outdoors played a significant role in the latter part of Puckett’s life. He was a regular attendee of the Dallas, Texas, Safari Club, where he arranged many of his trips.

Puckett hunted locally, took relatively short trips to South Dakota to hunt pheasant and traveled as far as Africa up to 10 times with Waters’ aunt Sylvia Vaughn for big-game safaris. Waters accompanied Puckett on a hunting trip to Italy in 2004.

Rugged terrain

Bobby Caldwell is another of Puckett’s old friends. His son, Bob, is a licensed guide in the King Salmon area, although he was not with Puckett’s party.

Caldwell described the terrain in the area where Puckett died as extremely rugged.

“You have to be in real good physical shape (to travel). There are no roads, no horses, no four-wheelers. You are several hundred miles away from everything,” said Caldwell.

Yet, Caldwell wasn’t at all surprised Puckett chose to make the trip.

“Very few of us get to do the things we want to do,” he said.

Houston Hardy, who knew Puckett during their time at Lee High School and later at Mississippi State University, said Puckett had been planning the trip to Alaska for three years.

Hardy was surprised to learn of Puckett’s death. The two men, who grew close after college, saw one another three times a week at Baptist Memorial Hospital–Golden Triangle during rehabilitation. Hardy was recovering from a heart attack suffered several years ago and says Puckett was overcoming emphysema.

Leaving a ‘void’

Still, Puckett looked to be in good health, he said. The two men saw each other at rehab just last week.

“This just leaves a void in the family. We still cannot fathom that he’s gone. I don’t think any of us have really realized he’s passed,” said Hardy of Puckett.

In addition to being personal friends, Puckett and Hardy also were charter members of a 20-year-old luncheon club known as the Riverhill Peckerwoods. The group of 11, now 10, meets at various places from members’ homes to local restaurants.

Puckett was a member of several such clubs, including the Columbus Rotary Club, and was a prominent member of the local community. Through Rotary, Puckett helped raise money to drill drinking water wells in third-world countries.

He also gave back through his church, St. Paul’s Episcopal Church, and through work with the Salvation Army.

“We was one of the most generous people with his time and his money,” said Hardy.

Service and school

After serving in the Army in the 1950s, Puckett returned to the Golden Triangle to complete his degree in accounting from Mississippi State.

He eventually went to work for his father’s funeral service and took the reigns after his father’s death.

Puckett will be remembered for place in Columbus’ business community, but his friends will remember him as a great hunter, cook and traveler.

Caldwell, who attended Georgia Tech, was one of Puckett’s Sigma Alpha Epsilon fraternity brothers. The two are related through marriage and had been close since the 1950s.

“He was a great friend. He was very gracious and a very good cook. He cooked a lot of his own game. He loved to hunt and had hunted in Africa and Canada and loved to fish in South America and down on the Gulf Coast,” recalled Caldwell.

Development, community service

Puckett went into real estate for a time and played a major role in developing the Holly Hills area of Columbus, he said.

“He was an outstanding man who was very active in the community and charities,” said Waters. “In his younger years he was involved in all kinds of charitable events. I just remember he was always involved in fundraisers and soliciting support for charitable organizations.”

Hardy received his first black Labrador as a gift from Puckett in the 1970s as a duck- and dove-hunting dog. Puckett had a home in Noxubee County and another in Gulf Shores so he would have options for hunting, Hardy said.

The two maintained a friendly hunting rivalry of which, Hardy said, Puckett got the best.

Hardy was envious of Puckett’s trip to Alaska and said he would have loved to join him. Even in the end, Puckett got the best.

Puckett is survived by his son Greg Puckett and daughter-in-law Raquel, four grandchildren — Stacy, Davie Ann, Ricky and Miller — and his brother, Dr. Andy Puckett.