Carolyn Hunter

Carolyn Hunter, our beloved mom, died on Friday, July 9, 2021, at South Bay Hospital in Sun City Center, Fla., of a pulmonary embolism. She was the sixth of seven children born to Reva and Orlando Shrack in Hartford City, Ind. Theirs was a loving home despite depression-era hardship and the early death of her father when mom was eight. From a young age she was attuned to the needs of others, an important value in her family, and she often told us about the dimes her mom would give to the unemployed men who came to their door, humbly asking for help. Mom was incredibly smart and excelled in school, becoming valedictorian and prom queen of Hartford City High School. She enrolled at Indiana Central (now the University of Indianapolis) for college, where she spent a semester volunteering as a nurses’ aide in a Native American reservation in Arizona, starred in plays and met our father, James Paul Hunter. They married in January 1954 and lived with their growing family in Florida, Texas, Massachusetts, California and Georgia. Mom was an early and avid supporter of Civil Rights during the tumult of the 1960s, opening our Atlanta home to a black family in 1968 who came to stay for Martin Luther King Jr.’s funeral and quietly espousing respect, dignity and equal opportunity for all. She was always amused by the clicks and occasional stray voices on the phone during that era, indicating that our line was being tapped by the Georgia Bureau of Investigation. Being a loving mother was the most important thing in the world to Mom, and guiding us to become caring, hardworking and successful adults was her life’s work. She was an intuitive, gentle and exceptionally attentive mother when we were young, always putting her kids’ needs first. As we grew older, Mom’s respect for our autonomy meant that she allowed us freedoms that helped us develop our independence. Our house was where all our friends gathered, where we played cards or electric football or Risk until way too late at night. Many of our friends thought of her as a second mom, and Paul’s best friend Marty Cole became a kind of honorary son to her. Mom never failed to express her pride in all of us and in all our kids and her grandchildren. Family was everything to her. Mom had a great sense of fun. She enjoyed corny jokes and had a wonderful sense of humor. She took on home repair projects with zeal, from reglazing windows to laying tile, always laughing at her missteps and making every project an adventure. She loved playing games with us kids and with her friends, including bridge; delighted over difficult crossword puzzles; and was a Jeopardy fiend, answering almost every question up to the last day of her life. Her creativity, keen intelligence and musical gifts enriched many lives. She played piano and could find any tune by ear, and for over a decade she played guitar and sang her own original songs with The Front Porch Pickers. Her lyrics, celebrating the poignance and humorous aspects of aging, were always crowd favorites. Mom was a delighted and delightful grandmother who took joy in playing. She would sit on the floor building Legos or making paper dolls for hours; read stories endlessly to rapt, cuddling kids; and would cheerfully dress up right along with the grandkids in band costumes to parade around the living room, tooting a recorder and pounding drums and singing the songs they’d just written together. One of us once came home from work while Grandma was visiting to discover a huge muddy hole in the backyard and two gleeful boys scooping and wallowing while she sat nearby, laughing with encouragement. Her home was filled with giant photos of her grandchildren, all of whom admired her as both a role model and a loving grandmother. Mom earned a master’s degree in education and became a specialist in working with disabled students, especially those who struggled with dyslexia. She taught at one of the first integrated elementary schools in Houston, Texas, in the early ‘60’s. Mom was a gifted and beloved teacher but left that profession to work as an analyst/adjudicator at the Georgia office of Disability Determination, where she thrived for almost 30 years, winning a national award and the affection and respect of her coworkers. Her integrity, work ethic, conscientiousness and people skills served her well there and everywhere in her life. She was proud of her work, which she initially sought because it offered the security of a pension and set hours so she could be present with us as we grew. Mom loved to travel with her family and her many friends. She went to China as soon as it opened up to American tour groups, cruised around the Caribbean, took trains through Europe and had many adventures with Elderhostels around the US. After our parents’ divorce, Mom managed single parenthood with grace and determination. Providing for her own needs so that she would never have to rely on anyone else was critical to her. She was proud of being able to purchase her first house, in 1976, in Decatur, Ga., and of the fact that her new financial security meant she would never need to lean on others for help. “I never want to be a burden to you kids.” On retirement, she struck out on her own for the Tampa, Fla., area, settling in Sun City Center at King’s Point. This choice was a gift she insisted on giving to her children: we knew she was safe and surrounded by friends and resources geared towards her many interests. Infinitely adaptable, Mom thrived in Sun City Center, quickly becoming active in volunteer activities like the Nearly New shop. Whether in volunteer or club activities or in assisting family, Mom was always the person who knew exactly what help was needed and who generously and quietly supported others. She joined the Front Porch Pickers, a bluegrass band, and there she met the love of her life, Ed Watson, who shared her liberal politics and devotion to Democratic causes, her frugality and her gratitude that they had found each other after long lives apart. Witnessing the sweetness of their devotion and kindness to each other was another gift to us kids, a love mom richly deserved that made us all so happy for her and for him. Mom was predeceased by her parents, her six siblings, beloved extended family members including her daughter-in-law, Sallyann Bailey Hunter; her godson, Wesley Ford; and many dear friends. Ed Watson predeceased her in June 2020. She is survived by her elder daughter, Debra Hunter (Michael Morgan), and their children, Hunter and Victoria, of San Rafael, Calif.; her middle daughter, Lisa (Aaron Carrel), of Madison, Wis., parents to Jacob and Elijah; and son, Paul (the late Sallyann Hunter), of Atlanta, parents of Megan, Samantha (Alan Taylor), Ben and Anna. A celebration of life will occur at the Veterans Theater at Kings Point in Sun City Center, Fla., on Saturday, Aug. 28, 2021, at 2 p.m. No flowers, please. We encourage you to send any donations to a nonprofit of your choice in Mom’s name. . . .

Carolyn Hunter

July 9, 2021

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Carolyn Hunter

July 9, 2021

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