Graveside services are scheduled for 2 p.m. Monday, April 3, at Woodbine Cemetery for John Alfred Hunt Jr.
During the early morning hours of March 31, 2017, as the pecan trees and rose bushes of Artesia sprouted new leaves and buds of spring, Hunt passed peacefully at the age of 85 from this physical world.
Visitation will be held from 2-5 p.m. at Terpening & Son Mortuary.
John was born April 18, 1931, in Blanchard, Okla. As a youth, he moved to Lamesa, Texas, where he was raised by his parents and grandparents.
On Feb. 6, 1952, he married Wanda Jean Collvins in Texarkana, Ark. They lived in Lamesa, where he learned sheet metal working.
In April 1952, John was drafted into the U.S. Army. During the Korean War, he served as a medic, reaching the rank of technical sergeant and earning the Bronze Star medal, National Defense Service Medal, Korean Service Medal with triple Bronze Stars, United Nations Service Medal, Good Conduct Medal, Medical Badge, and Sharpshooter Badge.
In October 1954, John and Wanda moved from Lamesa to Artesia, where he began a 42-year career as a sheet metal worker.
John was a member of Disabled American Veterans, the American Legion, and the Moose Lodge.
Survivors include his loving wife of 65 years, Wanda Jean Hunt; daughters Alfreda Kay McGreevey and husband Mark of Denton, Texas, and Terri Beth Hamilton of Artesia; grandchildren Sean Steven McGreevey and wife Lisa of Round Rock, Texas, Freya Jeneane Cargill and fiancé Kevin Pierce of Hutto, Texas, and Mikael Darrick Gleghorn and William Jefferson Lee Hamilton, both of Artesia; great-grandchildren Austin Tabler Scott of Cedar Park, Texas, Tristin Skye Cargill and Brylie Allison Cargill of Hutto, and Mira Nova McGreevey of Round Rock; and his faithful Yorkshire Terrier, Brutus.
He was preceded in death by his parents, John A. Hunt Sr. and Vonnie Virgil Hunt Qualls; sisters Ann Geneva Janzen and Vonnie Virgil Hunt; brother Samuel Dwight Hunt; and son Jeffery Don Hunt.
In lieu of flowers, the family requests memorial contributions be made to Disabled American Veterans (DAV), P.O. Box 246, Artesia, N.M., 88211-0246.
