Donald 'Don' E. Hunter of 1481 Winterberry Court, Hermitage, passed away peacefully at his home on Wednesday afternoon, 9/21/2011, with his family at his side. He was 83.
Mr. Hunter lived his entire life in Hermitage. He was born on October 30, 1927, in the New Virginia area of what was then Hickory Township to Edward S. and Margaret Parker Hunter.
Don attended elementary school at No. 19 (Neshannock) one-room school and graduated from Hickory High School in 1945.
While in high school he entered into an apprenticeship with Sharon architect E. E. Clepper. Upon Clepper's urging, he attended and graduated from Carnegie Tech (now Carnegie Mellon) in Pittsburgh, and in 1950 received a bachelor of architecture degree.
Returning to the Shenango Valley, he completed his internship under the late Walter Mallorie, and in 1953 he established the firm of Hunter, Heiges, and Gross with his partners John W. Gross, Architect, and George E. Heiges, Professional Engineer. Hunter continued with this firm and its successors, Hunter Heiges & Associates, and HHSDR, until his retirement in 1990. He was responsible for the design of many schools, hospitals, churches, and commercial buildings, locally and throughout Pennsylvania.
During his career, Hunter was a director of the PA Society of Architects, serving as secretary; a past-president of the Northwest PA Chapter of the American Institute of Architects; and served as the past-president and secretary of the PA Architectural Registration Board. He was also active with the National Council of Architectural Registration Board, where he was a member of the Design Jury and the Exam Writing Committees covering the U.S., Canada, and Pacific Rim nations.
In 1969, Governor Raymond Shaffer appointed Hunter to the State Board of Education, where he was proud to serve as a member-at-large and chairman of the committee on school buildings.
In addition, he was a director of McDowell National Bank and its successors for 25 years, a director of L'il Shopper Foods, a board member of the Hickory Township Municipal Authority and Planning Committees, a board member of the Mercer County Association for the Retarded, a director of the Scottish Rite Learning Center for Autistic Children, and a director of the Mercer County Historical Society. He was a former member and past president of the Hickory Rotary Club, and a member of the Sharon University Club, the Sharpsville Service Club, the Sharon Elks, Kedron Lodge #389 F. & A. M., New Castle Scottish Rite, the Zem Zem Temple A.A.O.N.M.S., and the Mercer County and Marco Island, FL Shrine Clubs.
One of his greatest honors was being named a Buhl Day Honoree for 2011. Although he was too ill to attend the ceremony on Labor Day, he was cheered by the many good wishes he received from friends on the occasion. Don was devoted to Buhl Park. He spent many years as a trustee of the park and was currently a trustee emeritus. He was instrumental in many of the building projects undertaken at the park in the last two decades, and he was especially proud of his work on the remodeled Casino.
A lifelong Methodist, he was a charter member of the Hickory United Methodist Church.
A man of many talents, he was a gifted musician, having played with many local bands in his younger years. He was part of the 'Three Sons' who had a Sunday afternoon program on WPIC in the 1940s, and also entertained at Camp Reynolds. One of his real joys in life was flying. For many years he owned his own plane and piloted it to Arizona, Florida, Canada, and the Bahamas, among other places.
Hunter was a strong supporter of education. In addition to his time spent on the PA Board of Education, he established scholarships at his alma mater, Carnegie Mellon, and at the Mercer County Historical Society.
One of Don's greatest joys was spending time at his winter home in Marco Island, FL.
His wife, the former Linda White Bole, whom he married on February 24, 1979, died on September 1, 2005.
He is survived by his four children, Christy Hunter Hall and her husband Derek Hall, Mercer; Cathi Friend and her husband Howard, Lisbon, OH; Julie Hunter and her husband Russ Mills, Deer Park, IL; and Edward 'Ted' Hunter and his wife Sharon, Grove City; two stepchildren, James Bole and his wife Pam, San Jose, CA; and Pam Watson and her husband Tim, Cuyahoga Falls, OH; and fourteen grandchildren, Wesley and Grace Hall, Alison and Christopher Friend, Megan Englert, Raechel and Hannah Mills, Eric, Steven, and Jacque Hunter, Joe and Bradley Trice, and Ryan and Colleen Bole. He is also survived by a sister, Naomi Hunter Nye and her husband Paul, Conneaut Lake; and two sisters-in-law, Carol Ferrell and her husband Ken, Dallas, TX; and Jackie McClimans, Jamestown.
In lieu of flowers, the family suggests that memorial contributions be made to the Buhl Farm Park Arboretum Committee, 715 Hazen Road, Hermitage, PA, 16148; the Mercer County Historical Society Hunter Internship Program, 119 South Pitt Street, Mercer, PA, 16137; or the Hickory Methodist Church, 240 North Hermitage Road, Hermitage, PA, 16148.
Calling hours will be 5-7:00 p.m. on Sunday September 25, 2011 in the J. Bradley McGonigle Funeral Home and Crematory Inc., 1090 East State Street, Sharon.
Friends may email condolences by visiting www.mcgoniglefuneralhomeandcrematory.com
Funeral Service will be 11 a.m. Monday, September 26th, 2011, in the Hickory United Methodist Church, Hermitage, with the Rev. David S. Evans, Pastor Officiating.
Interment Hillcrest Memorial Park, Hermitage.