Mississippi House Rep. Mac Huddleston died on Sunday at the Sanctuary Hospice House in Tupelo, Miss., at age 79 due to multiple myeloma, his obituary says. The Republican lawmaker served District 15 as a state representative from 2008 until his death.
Huddleston was a member of several committees while in office and was the chairman of the House Ethics Committee and University and Colleges Committee from 2019 to 2023.
“Mac Huddleston was exemplary in every aspect–as a decorated war hero, trusted legislator, veterinarian, and family man,” Lt. Gov. Delbert Hosemann tweeted Sunday. “Scrupulously honest and straightforward, @emachuddleston was my friend and he will be missed.”
After finishing his bachelor’s degree at Mississippi State University, Huddleston served in the U.S. Army during the Vietnam War and received several distinguished awards. He then got his Doctor of Veterinary Medicine from Auburn University.
Dr. Mac, as his friends called him, was a large animal veterinarian in Pontotoc, Miss., and the executive secretary of the Mississippi Board of Veterinary Medicine and Mississippi Veterinary Medical Association. He switched careers later in life to become a deputy for the Pontotoc County Sheriff’s Office until he was elected to the House in 2008.
“A Vet AND a Veteran, Dr. Mac managed the representation of his people in the Capitol with the same care and precision of the Vietnam helicopter pilot and flight instructor that he was,” Gov. Tate Reeves tweeted Sunday.
Huddleston’s funeral is set for today at 2 p.m. at his home church, West Heights Baptist Church, in Pontotoc, Miss.
“Mac was a great American, a great Mississippian, and a great Representative,” Mississippi Sen. Jeremy England tweeted Sunday. “God bless him and his family. They are in my prayers. Thank you for your service, Mac Huddleston.”
Huddleston announced before the filing deadline that he was not running for reelection this year, so the governor will not have to call a special election to fill the seat. Republican Beth Luther Waldo is the sole candidate for District 15, and she will start her first term in the House in January after formally winning the seat in the Nov. 7, 2023 general election.
