David Edward Hunter

On December 7th, 2023, our beloved David Edward Hunter passed away peacefully, surrounded
by his family, at the age of 74, following several years courageously facing Lewy Body
Dementia. He was born in Nampa, Idaho on April 18th, 1949 to Robert Leonard Hunter and Mary
Mae Atkinson, beating his twin sister, Dorcas, by 6 minutes. Living in a very small trailer at the
time, his mother cleverly devised some dresser drawers to use in place of a crib. He had an older
sister, Eral and later a younger brother, John. He had a fun and active childhood, and often
enjoyed telling his kids stories about all his funny adventures with his parents and siblings. His
dad was a train engineer, which enabled their family to have some memorable cross-country
trips, including visiting his relatives in Indiana.

David was baptized into the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints at the age 8, at his
father’s suggestion, although the kids had mostly attended the Nazarene church with his mom
prior to that. His mother joined the church a few years later, and his dad began attending church
late in his life, enabling the family to eventually be sealed for eternity in 1999.

When he was in 6th grade, he was diagnosed with asthma. The doctor suggested he play an
instrument to strengthen his lungs, so he began playing the trombone. The doctor’s advice did
help him, and it also later influenced all of his own children to choose to become proficient
playing various musical instruments. He had a beautiful voice and natural musical skills, and was
active in choirs and bands throughout his life.

David met his future sweetheart and best friend, Annabel Jean Nelson, while attending BYU. He
lived in the dorms, and she was a cashier in the cafeteria where he ate. When he first called her
for a date, she didn’t recognize his name, and only knew who he was after he told her his meal
ticket number, #167. They were married on March 7, 1970, and sealed in the Manti temple on
March 6, 1971. In Spring 1972, he was drafted into the army, and was stationed at Fort Sam
Houston in San Antonio, Texas instead of being sent overseas to Vietnam due to his accounting
skills from BYU. After his honorable discharge, he was able to finish his schooling at USU,
graduating in 1976 with a Bachelor’s degree in Accounting. By the time he graduated, David &
Jean had 3 little ones, and they would eventually have 8 children—2 sons and 6 daughters.

David’s first job after graduation was at Thiokol’s snow equipment division, which later became
DeLorean/LMC in Logan. After leaving there, he worked briefly at AgriFeed before accepting a
job as a controller for Deseret Industries, eventually spending 27 years in that career. He worked
in Logan, Ogden, Layton, and finally in the Salt Lake offices before retiring in 2013.

David’s favorite role was in the home. He was a master teacher, handyman, and a devoted dad
and husband. He supported his family in their various activities. Together with Jean, they had a
very musical home, and he frequently contributed to the “decibels”. He taught his children the
value of work, and they spent countless hours as a family each year, gardening, doing yard work,
and splitting wood for their wood-burning stove. He demonstrated vivacity in life, teaching them
to hike, camp, fish, ski, rock climb, and many other adventures. He set an example of community
service, working on the Star-Spangled Committee for Hyrum City with Jean for several years, as
well as performing for 25 years with the Imperial Glee Club as a tenor, and playing in the Cache
Community Band and Cache Bones with several of his children. He and Jean were honored as
the Grand Marshalls for Hyrum City in 2012. They were also inducted into Snow College’s
Horne School of Music Hall of Fame in 2020, after numerous children and grandchildren
participated in their program. He was a fun grandfather, and even after the Lewy Body dementia
affected him, his grandchildren still adored his sense of humor.

David was an active member of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints his entire adult
life. He loved working with the youth in the Scouting program, Young Men’s, and later in a
Young Single Adult Ward on USU’s campus. He served as Bishop of the Hyrum 10th Ward while
several of his children were still young, among various other callings. After retirement, he and
Jean served 3 missions to Martin’s Cove Historic Site, and they served for 6 years as Service
Missionaries, loving the students in the Special Needs Seminary class in Hyrum. They also
served as temple workers and enjoyed attending the temple frequently as patrons.

His death is tenderly mourned by those of us he leaves behind, including his forever bride, Jean,
his siblings: Eral Hunter, Dorcas (Gerry) Tuft, and John (Judy) Hunter; children: Boyd (Angela)
Hunter, Kathy (Ryan) Bigleman, Melanie (Nate) Thomas, Julie (Justin) Smith, Steven Hunter,
Heidi (Jake) Gordon, Melissa (Aaron) Denison, and Allison (Justin) Slack; and a legacy of 38
grandchildren, 4 grandchildren’s spouses, and 3 great grandchildren, with 2 more on the way. His
arrival on the other side of the veil is celebrated with joyful reunion by his loving parents, and a
beloved grandson, Andrew Bigleman, among many others.

A viewing will be held at the Hyrum West Stake Center building at 95 N 675 W in Hyrum, Utah
on Tuesday, December 12th, from 6:00-7:30 pm. Funeral services will be held on Wednesday,
December 13th, at noon at the same location, with a viewing prior from 10:30-11:30 am. Burial
will follow in the Hyrum Cemetery, with military honors.

As a family, we’d like to thank David’s caregivers, including Rohn and Jeanette at IHC Hospice,
for their care in the last few months. We kids also wish to thank our angel mother, Jean, for her
devoted care for the last 5 years. He was able to stay at home, at her side, and we wish to
recognize and honor her for such a sacrifice of love.

CLICK HERE TO WATCH FUNERAL LIVESTREAM