David L. Huff

David Huff, academician, rancher, husband, father, grandfather, and friend died on August 15, 2014 after a full and rewarding life. He was born on April 30, 1931 in McMinnville, TN to Dawson L. Huff and Alice Lynch Huff. A brother, James, followed the next year. All have predeceased him.

David spent an idyllic boyhood on Lake Oswego, OR before moving on to find a college or career that held his interest. After trying many jobs and five undergraduate universities, plus a stint in the U.S. Army, David found his direction when he met his soul mate and life partner, Suzanne, and together the two of them happily met any challengers life presented. From then on, family always came first for David, and he was right there for each person, whether celebrating a joyous occasion or helping to solve a serious problem.

David's academic motivation and interest began at the University of Washington, where he was fortunate to be involved in the emergence of quantitative geography with other graduate students in a synergistic atmosphere, and all went on to spread the discipline to other universities. David's first teaching position was at UCLA, and it was there as an Associate Professor in 1964 that David developed the Huff Model. The Huff Model is used extensively by market analysts and planners, and has served as the seminal work for others doing research in modeling choice behavior. A Fullbright Lectureship in France at the Université d'Aix-Marseille proved to be a life changing experience which brought a love of French culture and many dear friends.

A position at the University of Kansas as Director of the Center for Regional Studies did not allow David the time he needed to do basic research, so when the University of Texas invited him to come, he was ready to accept, and as Century Club Centennial Professor of Business Administration, he remained there until retirement. During his academic career, David received numerous teaching awards and much prestigious professional recognition. He had many, many publications and gave presentations all over the world. He truly loved his profession, greeted each day with enthusiasm, and was generous to everyone with his time and talent.

Soon after arriving in Texas, David began the search for his own Texas ranch, finally finding it 36 years ago in San Saba County. Much time was spent at the S-Bar-D Ranch, working the land, raising Murray Grey cattle, designing conservation projects, planting special grasses and orchards, and riding his horse. All of his grandchildren have happy memories of time spent at the ranch and his 80th birthday was spent there with all of his family and extended family in attendance.

David met his Lewy Body Disease with uncomplaining calm courage and a pragmatic sense of humor. He never wanted to be a burden to his cherished wife Suzanne, and he never, ever was.

He leaves to honor his values his wife of 61 years, Suzanne, his daughters; Nancy Baker, Santa Fe, NM, Karen Weeth (George), Albuquerque, NM, and son David Huff, Austin, TX, 10-grandchildren, 2 great-grandchildren, and soon to be 3 more great-grandchildren, as well as numerous sisters-in-law, brothers-in-law, and nieces and nephews.

A memorial service will be held on Saturday, September 13, 2014 at 10:00am at Weed-Corley-Fish North Funeral Home with a reception to follow.

In lieu of flowers, memorials in David's name may be made to the David L. Huff Memorial Graduate Fellowship http://links.utexas.edu/crcriao or Lewy Body Dementia Association www.lbda.org, 912 Killian Rd., SW, Lilborn GA 30047.