A requiem mass for Daniel “Danny” Earl Hossley, 77, of Hideaway, Texas will be held on Monday, Feb. 10, at 10 a.m. at the Chapel of Saints Peter and Paul Catholic Church in Tyler with Father Matthew Stehling officiating. Burial will follow at 3:30 p.m. at Calvary Hill Cemetery in Dallas under the direction of Stewart Family Funeral Home. 

Danny passed away Tuesday, Feb. 4, in Tyler.  He was born March 5, 1942, in Vicksburg to Earl and Elsie Tucker Hossley. 

A native of Vicksburg, Danny graduated with a Bachelor of Science from Mississippi State University  College of Business in 1965. After graduation, he began his career with the U.S. Steel Corporation in Birmingham, Ala., before returning to his hometown and joining Westinghouse Electric Lighting Division. Over the next decade, Danny held progressive positions, culminating as sales manager for the southern U.S. territory. In 1977, Danny left Westinghouse and founded Hossley Lighting Associates (HLA) in Dallas, which became nationally recognized. In 2000, he and his wife Ann McClain Hossley, a Philadelphia, native who also attended MSU, rewarded their associates with the ownership of HLA, and the company’s legacy continues today as one of the country’s largest independent lighting sales organizations.

In east Texas, Danny led a grassroots effort, founding and serving as the inaugural president of the award-winning East Texas Alumni Chapter of the MSU Alumni Association. As the chapter’s student recruitment coordinator, he also started the Robert L. Jones East Texas Scholarship. For his accomplishments, Danny received the Alumni Association’s 2007 Distinguished Service Award. He also served on the MSU Alumni Association National Board of Directors from 2010 to 2018, with multiple terms as student recruiting committee chair and a member of the executive and nominating committees.

Over the years, Danny has been a dedicated alumni leader with a compelling desire to maintain a strong student recruitment presence in Texas. When President J. Charles Lee presided over the administration of MSU, Danny forged an important voluntary role as the university’s first recruiter in the state of Texas. Since then, he’s thrived in that capacity and enlisted Ann as his voluntary associate recruiter. The Hossleys are credited with creating an MSU presence in that region and recruiting more than 200 students from east Texas to enroll at Mississippi State. They also have helped recruit prospective students from Arkansas, Mississippi, Tennessee and South Carolina.

On Friday, Feb. 7, Danny was awarded the university’s National Alumnus of the Year award during the MSU Alumni Association 2020 Awards Banquet. His family was present to receive the award in his honor.

Danny was preceded in death by his daughter Katherine Elizabeth Hossley, his parents Earl S. and Elsie Jane T. Hossley of Vicksburg, MS and two brothers Harry B. and Albert T. Hossley, Sr. 

He is survived by his wife of 56 years, Elizabeth Ann McClain Hossley; his two sons, Allen Hossley (Jill) of Tyler, Texas and John Paul Hossley (Erin) of Dallas; his daughter, Kristie Elaine H. King (Eric) of Draper, Utah.; his six grandchildren, Lexi, Kaitlin and Hayden Hossley and McClain, Avery and Davis King; two brothers and five sisters.

Pallbearers will be Brett Hossley, Edward Wall, Hayden Hossley, Davis King, Albert Hossley, Jr., Mickey Hossley, Chuck McClain, Van Franklin, Chris Brady, Peter Farmer, David Hauk, Charlie Harrell and Kevin Wollin.

A rosary will begin at 3 p.m. on Sunday, Feb. 9, at Stewart Family Funeral Home, 7525 Old Jacksonville Highway in Tyler.  Visitation will follow the rosary with visitation ending at 5 p.m.

In lieu of flowers, memorials may be made to St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital, PO Box 50 Memphis, TN  38101-9929, Mississippi State University; the Danny Hossley Memorial Annual Scholarship, online at www.msufoundation.com or by mail to the MSU Foundation Inc. P.O. Box 6149, Mississippi State, MS 39762 or Holy Family Catholic Church Building Fund, 16314 FM 849, Lindale, TX 75771 or the charity of your choice.