George Marvin Cunyus

Memorial service will be held at 11:00 a.m. Monday, March 11, 2024 at Peatown Christian Church, 4286 FM 2011, in Peatown, Texas with Pastor Bill Blanks and Pastor Jeneille LaGrone officiating. Visitation will be held at 10:00 a.m. until 11:00 a.m., Monday, March 11, 2024 at Peatown Christian Church. George Marvin Cunyus, 94, passed away surrounded by loved ones on Monday, March 4, 2024, in Kilgore, Texas.

George was born Jan. 13, 1930, in Dallas, Texas to Ruby and Grady Cunyus. Along with younger brother Karl, he loved to roam the wooded one-acre property they grew up on in Oak Cliff, accompanied by their fiercely protective pit bull, Pilot. George loved to tell stories about Pilot, who had no trouble “treeing” anyone who bothered the boys, including relatives.

After high school, George attended his mother and father’s alma mater, Rice Institute (now Rice University), graduating in 1951. While on summer break in Dallas before his junior year, he met the love of his life, Mary Ellen (Skeet) Faust, who was attending Southern Methodist University. The two were married April 24, 1952, in Tyler, Texas. As a wedding gift, George was given an all-expenses paid trip to Korea courtesy of the U.S. Army, where he was injured along with several buddies after being strafed by a U.S. fighter plane during a beer run. He was deployed for a year, which is how both he and Skeet came to describe the first 12 months of their marriage as “blissfully free of arguments.”

Returning from Korea in 1953, George enrolled in SMU’s law school, graduating in 1956. He then began a 40-year career with Hunt Oil Company as a corporate attorney, eventually rising to the positions of senior vice president and general counsel. He also served as chairman of the board of the East Texas Salt Water Disposal Company. He thought the world of legendary oilman H.L. Hunt, his wife Ruth, and Ray Hunt.

During this time, George and Skeet expanded their family, adding sons Bruce in 1957, Stuart in 1959, and John in 1962. The family enjoyed watching football in the fall and taking long road trips in the summer, generally to see Karl and his family but often to visit Civil War battlefields, a passion of George’s.

George was a long-time deacon and elder at Central Christian Church in Dallas, where he and Skeet made many lifelong friends. He greatly enjoyed the fellowship of the CCC congregation. He was also a board director on the Thai Christian Foundation.

George’s sweet wife Skeet passed away in 1987, and George retired from Hunt Oil Company in 1996. He then traveled extensively before moving to Kilgore in the early 2000s.

George is survived by his sons and daughters-in-law, Bruce and Patti Cunyus of Kilgore, Stuart and Ingrid Cunyus of Kerrville, Texas, and John and Rocio Cunyus of Dallas; grandchildren, Micki Whitacre (Jeff) and Callie Jo Lasater (Tommy), Zach Cunyus, Martha Higgins (Tylor), Grace Cunyus (Emily), and Catie and David Cunyus; and great-grandchildren, Sadie and Cason Whitacre, and Lily and Robbie Lasater. He is also survived by his nieces, Lauren Cunyus, Karla Cristi, and Kim Link.

The family thanks the staff at Arabella in Kilgore and special care worker Mimi Grant for their loving care for George during his later years.