John Edwin "Jack" Hunt Sr.

John Edwin “Jack” Hunt, Sr., 94, was born in Echo, a “suburb” of Ozark, Alabama on January 13, 1918 to Tipton Atticus Hunt and Ada Izora Arnold Hunt. He was born to meager surroundings in the Lower Alabama country side where the Hunt family had settled and grown since the 1880’s, but never lacked for recognition of opportunity. After a fire destroyed the family farm home, they moved to Headland, Alabama and then to Marianna, Florida so John, also known as “Jack” to his family and friends, and his brother Paul could attend high school. In Marianna, Jack found a job with the Fellows Funeral Home driving the hearse which doubled as the area ambulance, and assisting with services. He planned to enter the Funeral Home business but when Mr. Fellows died, he reconsidered his education and wrote to Congressman Millard Caldwell (later to become Governor of Florida) to apply for Annapolis Naval Academy. Congressman Caldwell brought him to Washington, DC to finish high school and get prepared for Annapolis but Jack got sidetracked along the way and moved towards business and law. He attended law school at Columbia University and also attended the American Institute of Banking. He then joined the Riggs National Bank and was named as the banking attaché to the White House. While he was in Washington, his family moved to Plant City, Florida where his brother Paul had a crush on a slightly older girl named Winifred “Wink” Pritchard. When Jack went to Plant City on a brief vacation from Washington, Paul introduced him to “Wink” and she showed him around Plant City for a few days. Not long after, he came back from Washington again to seek her hand in marriage and that started the John Hunt Family adventures. Jack and Wink returned to Washington where she went to work for Senator George Smathers while Jack continued at the bank. Jack met Ed Ball, the Trustee/Guardian of the DuPont fortune during his banking days in Washington and was invited by Mr. Ball to come to Jacksonville, Florida to the Florida National Bank Trust Department. They moved to Jacksonville and over several years he moved from banking to insurance and went to work with the Travelers Insurance Company. Shortly thereafter, Travelers asked him to go to Tallahassee to open a branch office for the company, so Jack and Wink headed West with a few dollars, a well-used car and a taste for adventure. Shortly after opening the branch for Travelers, the company asked him to turn it into a “General Agency” and run it himself and that began his series of insurance agencies and brokerages in Florida from Tallahassee to Miami, Florida with former Supreme Court Justice Alto Adams in 1959 and back to Tallahassee in 1972 where he opened a new agency with his son John Jr. He and his partner Frances Everett started an insurance agency in Nassau, Bahamas at the request of the Bahamian government before selling it back to the other investors in the late 1960’s. He founded John E. Hunt Insurance Agency (Tallahassee), Alto Adams & Associates (Miami), Hunt-Everett & Associates (Miami), John E. Hunt & Associates (Tallahassee), and Hunt Insurance Group which continues in Tallahassee today. Late in his career, he and his long-time friend Armer White, along with his son John Hunt, Jr., purchased the land at I-10 along Highway 90 West and started Gadsden 10/90 Commerce Park in the Midway area to open up commerce, manufacturing and commercial growth for Gadsden County.

During the years Jack and Wink managed to raise a daughter and 4 sons, several of whom joined him in insurance businesses. He followed an opportunity in 1962 while still in Miami, to help the Florida Sheriffs with a liability insurance problem dealing with civil rights law suits. He worked with several of his friends including the late John A. “Jack” Madigan, general counsel and the late Carl Stauffer, former Executive Director of the Florida Sheriffs Association, to start a liability insurance program. A few years later he expanded it to include the National Sheriffs Association in Washington covering Sheriffs, deputies and employees all over the U.S. Eventually he and his sons created and founded the Florida Sheriffs Self Insurance Fund along with several key members of the FSA and that grew into 4 major insurance programs covering the professional liability, automobiles, workers compensation and healthcare of the Sheriffs and their employees. He also became friends with the Executive Director of the Florida Police Chiefs Association and founded a self insurance liability plan for them as well. He was instrumental in serving as a founding member of the Florida Police Chiefs Education and Research Foundation. He was honored by the Florida Sheriffs Association when they named one of their campus buildings the “Hunt-Blackburn” building after him and his dear friend, former Sheriff and State Representative Ed Blackburn.

For his dedication and work over a great many years for them, The Florida Sheriffs Association bestowed a great many awards on John Hunt including his most coveted when he was named Honorary Florida Sheriff, one of only 7 in the history of the Association. The Florida Police Chiefs Association recognized him in 2011 for his contributions by naming him to their “Wall of Honor”, one of only 2 civilians to receive the honor. It was the last major event he was able to attend and he cherished both of those awards greatly.

John “Jack” Hunt was a devoted family man and put family very high on his priority list hosting numerous family gatherings for just about any occasion. He loved to have his family around him. He was preceded in death by his father and mother, his loving wife Winifred “Wink” Pritchard Hunt and his brother Paul J. Hunt (Ormond Beach). He later married Leona Snowden Hunt on August 7, 1993, and they have been happily married for the last nineteen years. He had a wonderful family who had been with him just before passing. He was well attended by Big Bend Hospice and was grateful to his very well-loved care givers Glenora Gardener, Cassandra Wilkerson and Gail Page.

He is survived by his children, Jacqueline Kay (Jacque) Hunt, John E. Hunt, Jr. (Linda), Geoffrey E. Hunt (Nancy), Richard T. Hunt (Fiancé Maureen Shields), and Scott P. Hunt (Dottie). He had two step-children, Bill Snowden, Jr. (Joan – Ft. Lauderdale) and Harry Snowden. He was close to his niece and nephew, Paul J. Hunt, Jr. and Debbie Hunt (Ormond Beach) and his sister-in-law Becky Hunt (Jacksonville). He leaves a number of grandchildren, John P. Sessions (Fiancé Cecelia – Ormond Beach), Amy Hunt Greubel (Rob – Decatur), Luewin Hunt Griffin (John), Susan Hunt Johnson (Derek), Jennifer Hunt Spolyar (Jeff – Orlando), Matthew Hunt, Sarah Hunt, Vanessa Hunt Culpepper (Matt). Step Grandchildren,, Harry Snowden, Jr. (Angie), Lee Snowden (Liz), Bill Snowden IV (Meredith) and Dana Snowden (Atlanta). Great-grandchildren, John Michael Sessions (Turkey), Isla Griffin, Ella Greubel (Atlanta), Reagan Spolyar (Orlando), Andrew Spolyar(Orlando), Grady Culpepper, Ava Culpepper, and step-great-grandchildren, Harper Snowden, Emily Snowden, Dylan Snowden, Noah Snowden, Drew Snowden and Lily Snowden.

He wrote a book which was a chronicle of his family and his life entitled “History of the John Hunt Family from the Beginning”; it contains numerous stories of his family, his childhood and his experiences with country folks, Congressman and Senators, Governors and Lieutenant Governors, State officials, and others. He enjoyed his life, his family, his faith and his friends, many of whom had passed on as they advanced in age. He was an avid boating enthusiast owning everything from skiffs to cabin cruisers and a houseboat. He was a past member of the Jaycees, Greater Miami Insurance Board, Independent Insurance Agents of Tallahassee, Miami Chamber of Commerce; he was a Mason, a member of Jackson Lodge #1, Marzuq Temple, current or former member of St. Marks Yacht Club, the Town Club, Florida Economics Club, Tiger Bay, Trinity United Methodist Church and was a member of St. Paul’s United Methodist Church, and a founding member and Past President of the Committee of 99 of Tallahassee/Leon County.

Director Renal CarePartners

Partner – Gadsden 10/90 Commerce Park

Founder – Keys Community Hospital

Lifetime Honorary Member Florida Sheriffs Association

Lifetime Honorary Member Florida Police Chiefs Association

Honorary Board Member – Committee of 99

President of Insurance Consultants and Analysts, Inc.

Director of the Florida Crime Commission

Director of the Scenic Railroads of America

Family will receive friends from 6 – 8 pm Thursday, March 15, 2012 at Culley’s MeadowWood Funeral Home, 700 Timberlane Road. Funeral service will be held 11:00 am Friday, March 16th in Trinity United Methodist Church, 120 W. Park Avenue, with entombment to follow in Roselawn Cemetery.

Please sign the guest book at www.culleysmeadowwood.com

He will be remembered and loved by his family and friends and leaves a lasting legacy for us all.

In lieu of flowers, memorials may be made to Florida Sheriffs Youth Ranches (On line), Fallen Officers Memorial Fund, (Committee of 99), Post Office Box 1702, Tallahassee, FL, 32302. Or Big Bend Hospice, 1723 Mahan Center Blvd. Tallahassee, Florida 32308.

Arrangements are under the direction of Culley's MeadowWood Funeral Home in Tallahassee, Florida.