John Frederick Hunt of Clarkston, age 94, died and went home to be with Jesus Monday, April 6, 2020. He was a member of the Greatest Generation, with many talents and interests.
He was born Feb. 10, 1926, at Little Falls, N.Y., to Frank C. and Gertrude Pentland Hunt, the second of two boys. He grew up in Dolgeville, N.Y., graduating from Dolgeville Central High School in 1943 in the middle of World War II. After graduation, he worked a short time in the Daniel Green Slipper Co. and at their family farm. He followed in his father’s footsteps by enlisting in the U.S. Navy in 1944, where he was assigned to Aviation Turret School. He was discharged in 1945 as a Turret Specialist from the U.S. Navy Hospital in Farragut, Idaho, where he was being treated for service-related hearing injuries that plagued him for the remainder of his life.
While in Idaho he met his first wife, Lulu Mae Carstens, at a USO dance and they were married Oct. 27, 1946. Following his discharge, they moved east to his hometown in Dolgeville, where he and Mae worked at the Daniel Green Slipper Co. for a short time. But their love for Idaho brought them back to Moscow.
With the help of the G.I. Bill, John became a banker with the First Trust and Savings Bank, which later became the First Security Bank. John advanced from being a teller to timeway manager, then assistant manager in 1957. He subsequently became the first manager of a new branch location in Coeur d’Alene in 1963. In 1969, he was transferred to the division office in Lewiston and promoted to assistant vice president of division marketing manager. In 1973, he was promoted to vice president and assistant trust officer in Lewiston, where he remained until his retirement in 1981.
Throughout his time in Moscow, Coeur d’Alene and Lewiston, John was active in civic organizations, including the American Legion, Kiwanis (while in Lewiston, lieutenant governor of Kiwanis District), Chamber of Commerce (Coeur d’Alene president), started several coin clubs, AARP (statewide Tax Relief programs) and the Presbyterian Church. He also continued his education, graduating from the Pacific Coast Banking School at the University of Washington.
John suffered the sudden loss of Lulu Mae in 1986. In 1987, he married longtime friend and member of their bowling group, Jeanne M. Miller.
Among John’s many talents, he learned the lost art of tatting at his mother’s knee as a child. He shared his handiwork with many friends as well as entering them at local fairs, where he won many awards.
Acting as a tour guide for his family, he took them to Dolgeville to meet his family, and to Europe to meet some of Mae’s family still living in Germany. After purchasing their motor home, John and Mae took the grandkids to Disneyland, as well as other camping adventures. After Jeanne’s retirement, they enjoyed camping and traveling with friends, trips back east, to Europe and Hawaii, as well as several cruises.
He was preceded in death by his parents; his brother, Charles W. and his wife, Floradell Hunt; his first wife, Lulu Mae Carstens Hunt; two children who died in infancy; and his son-in-law, Robert Kline.
He is survived by his wife, Jeanne Hunt; children Willetta M. Kline (Chas) Raduazo and Thomas W. Hunt and stepchildren Brenda M. (Keith) Crumpacker and Glenn R. Miller; grandchildren Tracy (Richard) Jacobsen, Stacey (Dorcey) Hunt, Mardi (Kevin) Kline Barr, Matthew (Sarah) Kline, and Travis (Jennifer) Hunt; great-grandchildren Jaicee Petross, Kyla (Brad) Prior, Taylor (Isaiah) Bull, Hayden Latten, Megan Kline, Madison Kline, Justin (Morgan) Hunt, Colton Hunt, Jaden Hunt, Blake Earle, Benton Earle, Sydney Hunt and Lo Hollenbeck; and one great-great-granddaughter, Kara Prior. The family photo captures five generations of John’s family.
An online memory book is available at Merchant Funeral Home in Clarkston. John was cremated, and his ashes have been buried with the mother of his children in the Palouse Cemetary in Palouse. The family will hold a celebration of life service later.
