Hooker's Will Gone Missing

By Walter F. Roche Jr.

When John Jay Hooker lost his yearlong battle with cancer on Jan. 24 it came as a surprise to no one. The well known Tennessee attorney's illness and the inevitable outcome had been played out in Tennessee courtrooms and across the headlines of newspapers.
Apparently it was a surprise, however, when his family went looking for the original copy of his will which had been drawn up and witnessed more than a decade earlier.
"After the decedent's death a thorough search was made for the original of the lost will, however it cannot be found," a petition to the court states, adding that it was apparently "accidentally misplaced."
The petition, which is now pending before Probate Judge David "Randy" Kennedy, asks the court to accept a copy of the will in place of the signed original.
According to the copy filed with the court, the will was dated Oct. 12, 2005. In it Hooker left his entire estate to his first wife, Eugenia Tish Fort. If she had died before him, the estate would have been split among his three children; John B. Hooker, Dara Hooker and Kendall Hinote.
Fort was also named as personal representative of the estate.
The petition and the copy of Hooker's will were filed by Nashville attorney Robert Delaney on Thursday. It was witnessed by Angie Haynie and Vicki Long, both of Nashville, records show. Delaney said that Hooker had drafted the will himself some years ago.
For whatever reason, he added, the original was misplaced.
Hooker's last days were spent in an ultimately futile battle in the Tennessee legislature and courts to gain recognition of a person's right to death with dignity. The state Supreme Court ultimately ended his efforts for approval of physician assisted suicides by refusing to hear his appeal of an unfavorable lower court decision.
Known as a political gadfly Hooker was the Democratic nominee for Tennessee governor in 1970 and 1998. He ran as an Independent in 2008.
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