David Evans Hunter

David Evans Hunter, friend to so many, died at home in Columbus on June 5th, after a lengthy illness. He was born in Boston, Massachusetts, on October 30,1937, son of Robert Hunter Jr. of Quincy, and Inez Evans Hunter, from Belle Fourche, South Dakota. Both parents were first-generation college graduates and provided Dave with a love of learning and a firm grounding in basic values of honesty, integrity, and caring for others. He got the best of New England – at age 8, he sat on Plymouth Rock -- and the pioneer West.

At the start of World War II, the family moved to Radford, Virginia, where Dave’s father worked for the War Department. In grade school in Blacksburg, one of Dave’s first essays was on Jackie Robinson’s breaking the baseball color bar. The family grew a “victory garden,” which Dave tilled; he was a Boy Scout, later an Explorer.

In 1951, the family returned north, to Oradell, New Jersey, a “bedroom community” near New York City, where Dave was an inveterate explorer. He attended Dwight Morrow High School in Englewood, where he was a star sprinter and broad jumper on the track team and top-notch student. In addition to becoming an accomplished photographer, he developed a passion for coin and then stamp collecting, which he pursued for the rest of his life as an expert philatelist -- notably designing popular first-day covers. He attended Harvard University; in 1962 he graduated (BA) from Boston University; then served for two years in the U.S. Army.

Qualifying as a Certified Internal Auditor, Dave worked for Dupont in Wilmington, Delaware, and then moved to Columbus to Nationwide Insurance. He later provided financial advice for and audited nursing homes all over Ohio, as well as churches in Columbus. In 1977, he joined the King Avenue United Methodist Church, and for decades was a devoted parishioner. He became friend and supporter of people in need, as a practicing Christian.

Dave Hunter had an extraordinary memory – regularly “winning” at Jeopardy!, which he never missed. Highly intelligent, he could rarely be bested on history and literature, and had an anecdote or quotation for every situation. He found special pleasure in gardening – a devotee of daffodils – and was a lover of dogs, to which he opened his home. To the end of his life, he made new friends, impressing people with his human qualities and, despite his own health difficulties, always having a smile and a good word for others, in his cheerful baritone.

David Evans Hunter is survived by his younger brother, Robert, of Washington, D.C., and sister-in-law, Shireen Hunter. He is much missed by so many, having done so much to define friendship.

He will be interred with his paternal grandparents in Hall Cemetery, Quincy, Massachusetts. Memorial contributions may be made to King Avenue UMC at kingave.org, designating the David Hunter Memorial Fund.