Duncan Orr Hunter

Duncan spent much of his youth in nearby Port Glasgow, and he often spoke of adventures such as walking hours to camp in “the Black Forest,” buying his fixer-upper first car sans engine, his motorcycles, and many other tales that should probably not be told in this obituary. He was proud of his time spent in the Royal Airforce Cadets. He never lost his love for Caledonia or his brogue, although friends often had great fun trying to teach him to “talk Texan.”

The oil and gas business brought Duncan to Houston, as it has so many others. In a career spanning nearly 30 years, Duncan advanced from a roughneck in the North Sea to an environmental health and safety executive with a global company. He worked on offshore drilling rigs all over the world and made many friends along the way. He touched every continent except Antarctica.

At the young age of 18, he met Edel Campbell while out at the Tokyo Joes. They fell in love and were married in 1992. They had two beautiful children. Vashj Elizabeth Hunter in 1995 and Lucy Mary Hunter in 1998. In 2004, he moved with his young family to Oakville, Ontario, Canada.

Duncan arrived on this planet about five weeks before the first human set foot on the moon and always had an interest in science. Surprisingly, there is no written record of anyone saying, “Houston, we have a problem,” upon Duncan’s arrival on Texas shores in 2005.

His most important discovery in Texas was not oil deposits in the Gulf of Mexico, but Melissa Schmieg, who he married officially on Nov. 3, 2007, and unofficially in a ceremony on Aug. 16, 2008.

A grouch of great humor and varied interests, Duncan was a self-professed geek who loved Dr. Who, Batman, The Alarm, The Cure, Douglas Adams, Neil deGrasse Tyson, Firefly, any movie that ended with the words “has Fallen,” gnomes, 18-year-old Macallan, Tenets Lager, and Miller Lite. He loved his German shepherds and all animals. He had been known to play the drums with enthusiasm, and he probably did argue with a lamppost at some point in his too-short life.

Mostly, he loved Missy and his two children, who survive him - Vashj Elizabeth Hunter of Port Colborne, Ontario, and Lucy Mary Hunter of Oshawa, Ontario. He couldn’t stand that he liked Lucy’s partner, Blair Winner, so much, as it deprived him of an opportunity to play his mean dad card, but he always made sure to remind him that he lived in Texas and could buy a gun anywhere.

He is also survived by first wife, Edel Campbell of Burlington, Ontario; his younger brother, Gary Hunter of Port Glasgow, Scotland; his beloved in-laws Linda Schmieg, Jessica and long-running rival Austin Skaggs, and their children, Samantha and Charlie, all of Temple Texas; his niece Jade Canning of Port Glasgow, Scotland; and many cousins, nieces, nephews, and dear friends in Scotland. He leaves behind many friends across the pond and around the world who will miss him greatly.

He is preceded in death by his parents, his grandmother, Elizabeth Coyle Hunter who raised him, and a baby sister, Isla, and many loyal furry family members.

In lieu of flowers and tears, please raise a glass and repeat your favorite Duncanism.