Mitchell Wilcox Hunt, Sr. passed away peacefully at home on September 11, 2019, at the age of 85. His funeral service will be held at 3:00 p.m. Thursday, September 19, 2019, at the First United Methodist Church in Tifton with the Rev. Chip Grantham officiating. Mr. Hunt will be laid to rest at Rose Hill Cemetery in Ashburn. The family will receive friends Thursday, September 19, 2019, at the First United Methodist Church in Tifton from 1:30 p.m. until the hour of the service.
Mr. Hunt's grandsons, Griffin Hunt, Taylor Hunt and Charlie Hunt, as well as his nephews, Dallas Hunt, Greer Brown and Jamie Mann will serve as pallbearers. Honorary pallbearers will be the members of the Beacon Sunday School Class of Tifton’s First United Methodist Church.
Born in Ashburn, he always enjoyed telling others his birthdate was 1/2/34.
He grew up on a dairy farm in Ashburn, where he was, among other things, active in Methodist Youth Fellowship at First Methodist Church.
He graduated from Georgia Military Academy, now Woodward Academy, in 1953, where he played football and formed strong bonds with treasured friends. He remained an active alumnus all his life.
After graduation and attending The University of Georgia, he served in the Army; and married his childhood sweetheart, the love of his life, Sandra Griffin, in 1955. They remained married nearly sixty years, until Sandra passed away in 2015.
After completing his military service, he worked in the dairy industry and served as a Deputy for the Turner County Sheriff’s Department. He and Sandra built a family and moved to Tifton in 1963 where they were active members of First United Methodist Church for the rest of their lives. Church was a cornerstone for rearing children and forming deep friendships. He was a member of The Beacon Sunday School Class, and among other roles, he hosted an annual retreat to Hiawassee for over twenty-five years.
He was involved in his family’s business for over fifty years. From Hunt Chrysler Plymouth, to Shoney’s, Captain D’s, Checkers, and other business ventures, working with family was one of his life’s greatest joys.
When not working, he could be found at a ballfield with his children or supporting their schools. As a grandfather, Mitch, along with Sandra, hosted an annual “Sam’s Camp,” and all seven grands still recall fond memories with one another in mountains, beaches, swamps, campgrounds, ballfields, and most of all in their backyard feeding ducks and swinging on the hammock. He and Sandra were a team, and his devotion to her during her journey through Alzheimer’s was a significant witness to the power of love.
His hobbies included hiking, rafting, canoeing, water and snow skiing, and he enjoyed travel that included those things. His favorite trips were hiking in Glacier National Park and visiting the Holy Land, walking where Jesus walked, and renewing his baptism in the Jordan River.
His favorite hobby was being wherever family and friends were, doing whatever they were doing. He spent many hours on bleachers supporting generations of family members. He enjoyed every-day routines with family and treasured friends, and nurturing relationships with them were what his life was about.
In addition to his wife, he was preceded in death by his parents, Charles Seaborn Hunt and Mary Louisa Doster Hunt, his sister Mary Doster Brown and her husband James Rice Brown, Sr., and his brother George McAlister Dallas (John) Hunt, III. Survivors include his brother Charles Seaborn Hunt, Jr. (Rose); sister-in-law Julie Ewing Hunt; children Mitchell Wilcox Hunt, Jr. (Toni), Jeffrey Griffin Hunt (Tina), and devoted daughter Sandra Michelle Hunt, who lovingly cared for him in failing health. His seven grandchildren include Mitchell Wilcox Hunt, III (Chelsea), Christine Hunt Frackelton (Rob), Mark Griffin Hunt, Heather Hunt Williams, Taylor Jeffrey Hunt (Giovanna), Kelli Hunt Pike (Jared), and Charles Seaborn Hunt. He is also survived by seven great grandchildren: Sam, Louisa, and Thad Frackelton; Jordan Williams; Ava and Eli Pike; and Oliver Hunt.
His children offer special thanks to local family members not mentioned above, Dallas and Angie Hunt, Jim and Minnie G. Brown, and Mary Brown, who have been especially devoted to him in recent years. They also wish to thank Joanne Edwards for her special care for both of their parents, as well as appreciation to Hospice of Tift Area.
Donations in his memory may be made to First United Methodist Church, 107 12th Street West, Tifton, GA 31794; or First United Methodist Church, 406 North Main Street, Ashburn, GA 31714.