A treasured colleague. An inspiring leader. A dear, sweet friend.
The Burnette Shutt & McDaniel family was devastated to learn of the passing of Tamekia Hunter Ross after a brave seven-year battle with metastatic breast cancer.
Tamekia’s title at the firm was “intake process manager,” but a mere title doesn’t begin to describe everything she did for us and all she was to us.
Eight years ago, when five lawyers took a leap of faith to create a new firm, Tamekia took a leap right alongside us. We had known her from working together at another firm, where we saw her excellence, her drive, her heart for clients, and her gift for working with people. Her credentials made her uniquely qualified for the work: She holds a bachelor’s in political science and pre-law from Francis Marion University. So when we needed someone brave, organized, and steady to lead our brand-new intake team, we asked her. She said yes.
It was a risk, leaving a secure position for a brand-new business venture. But Tamekia’s unflagging dedication was surpassed only by her fierce determination. That first month, the phone never stopped ringing. Every call was handled by hand, with Tamekia building systems from scratch—even teaching herself new software to keep us moving forward. Over time, her leadership carried us to new heights. She continued to press forward with system improvements and new software. Just last month, she and her team processed a record-breaking 532 new potential clients.
Tamekia accomplished all of this while walking through a battle few could imagine. For seven years, she faced stage IV metastatic breast and bone cancer with unshakable faith and determination. She showed up for her work, for her family, and for her community. An ordained minister, she built FaithStrong to support other women fighting metastatic breast cancer. We were proud to count ourselves among her many sponsors and biggest fans. You can learn more about her amazing work with FaithStrong here: https://www.wearefaithstrong.com/
But above all, Tamekia was a devoted mother, daughter, sister, co-worker, and Breastie. Her beloved sons, Cameron Tucker and Caleb Higgins, were the center of her world. She also is survived by her mother, Maggie Sumter Hunter, and three older brothers.
We will always remember her leap of faith, her strength, her excellence, and her grace. Tamekia’s legacy lives on in this firm, in FaithStrong, and in every life she touched. For more about Tamekia’s journey through metastatic breast cancer, you can listen to Burnette Shutt & McDaniel partner Kathleen McDaniel interview her for NPR’s StoryCorps last year: https://archive.storycorps.org/interviews/tamekia-hunter-ross-and-kathleen-mcdaniel/
