Morris Jackson Hampton
Morris Jackson Hampton, 91 years old, of Austin, Texas, passed away peacefully on July 21, 2023. Jack was born in Naples, Texas, on April 6, 1932.
The memorial service will be held at 10:30AM on August 5 at The Church at Horseshoe Bay, Horseshoe Bay, Texas, followed by a reception.
He graduated from Naples High School and continued his study at the University of Texas, where he received his BA in Economics and then his Law degree, class of 1955.
Jack met his wife Helen in 1958 on a blind date, and they married in Dallas on April 18, 1959. They were married for 59 years and raised their five children in their residence on Normandy Avenue from 1962-1993 in Highland Park.
After graduating from UT Law, Jack served in the US Army as a Second Lieutenant and was stationed in Virginia Beach, Virginia, for three years, working as a JAG Court defense attorney. Upon finishing his service, he moved to Dallas to work in the District Attorney’s Office under Henry Wade from 1957-1962. He then started his law practice, where he worked for 19 years in criminal and family law. In 1981, Governor Bill Clements appointed Jack as the criminal district judge presiding over the 283rd Criminal District Court in Dallas County. He led this courtroom for 15 years, getting re-elected to the office three times. He was known by lawyers on both sides of the aisle as a fair judge.
Jack loved the law and entertained friends and family with his interesting and, at times, hilarious or harrowing tales from the courtroom. In 1996 Jack retired from the courtroom, and he and Helen moved to Horseshoe Bay in the Texas Hill Country, where they found a small-town atmosphere, church community, and setting where their children and grandchildren would want to visit. Helen designed their new home, Jack bought a motor boat and fishing boat to enjoy on Lake LBJ, and their children and grandchildren enjoyed many vacations with their grandparents there.
An avid hunter and fisherman, Jack loved sharing his favorite hobbies with his family. While raising their children, Jack and Helen spent summer vacations camping, hiking, and fishing in the national parks and beautiful wildernesses of the US and Canada, and he spent many fall weekends and vacations hunting and fishing with his sons, sons-in-law, and grandchildren. Jack was able to fulfill his lifelong dream of hunting large African game in his retirement years by going on five African safari trips to South Africa, Namibia, and Zimbabwe with Helen and friends and family members, as well as several trips to Argentina and Mexico to dove hunt and fish. He hunted in Australia and New Zealand and even took Helen to the Amazon Basin for Peacock Bass fishing. He brought many trophies home from these trips and hung them on the walls of his home, showing them to guests and telling tales of each hunt which brought him great joy.
He also loved playing tennis and shooting sports and was an avid reader, especially of hunting stories and WWII history. During his years in Dallas, Jack was a member of the Highland Park United Methodist Church, Safari Club, the NRA, the Dallas Gun Club, and the Dallas Bar Association. In Horseshoe Bay, he was involved as a member and board member of The Church at Horseshoe Bay and the Kiwanis Club. He cared for his loving wife, diagnosed with Alzheimer’s in 1999, for ten years in their home.
Jack is survived by his sister Ouida Anderson and brother Dan Hampton; his children Elaine and John Hall, Carolyn and Steve Kotyk, Clayton and Pam Hampton, Anna and Jose Salas, and Andrew and Amy Hampton; his 16 grandchildren and four great-grandchildren. Jack considered his family his greatest legacy.
Jack is preceded in death by his parents, Morris Brown and Ida Mae Hampton of Naples, Texas, and his wife, Helen Tutt Hampton.
In lieu of flowers, memorial donations may be given to the Highland Lakes Kiwanis Club PO Box 1492 Marble Falls, Texas, 78654. The family of Morris Jackson Hampton wishes to thank Brookdale Westlake in Austin for their compassionate care from 2018-2023.
