Hanna's survivors include his wife, Jeanene, and six children.
Texas horseman Billy Hanna died Sept. 15 after a long battle with cancer.Born in Houston in 1934, Hanna was an active member of the Texas Thoroughbred Association as well as an entrepreneur, songwriter, moviemaker, and computer expert. He was the majority partner in the group that brought 1983 Kentucky Derby (gr. I) winner Sunny's Halo to Texas to finish his stallion career at Double S Thoroughbred Farm near Tyler. Sunny's Halo died in 2003 and recently his remains were re-interred at the Kentucky Derby Museum in Louisville. Hanna helped organize and underwrite the cost of that effort.Hanna also co-owned and/or managed other stallions Naevus, Smile, Irish Open, and Truluck.