Individual Details
Amelia Elizabeth "Mim" Royer
(13 Oct 1919 - 2 May 2014)
Posted at findagrave.com: Amelia "Mim" Royer Hunley, a homemaker and career Naval Dental Corps wife (Ret'd), died May 2, 2014 peacefully at her home in Spencer. She was 94.
Born Amelia Elizabeth Royer in Indianapolis on October 13, 1919, she was the second of four daughters of Ernest "Doc" Royer and Gladys Fox Royer. In 1925, she moved with her family to 15 East Hillside Avenue in Spencer where the family resided until the early 1960s. She was a graduate of Spencer High School, Class of 1937, where she served as Class Secretary and remained active in alumni events and reunions. She attended Indiana University, earning a Certificate in Elementary Education.
Mrs. Hunley taught school in Freedom where she met her husband, Theodore R. "Ted" Hunley, a young mathematics teacher and basketball coach at Freedom High School. Despite Doc Royer's admonition that a war was coming, the couple married on Thanksgiving Day, November 21, 1940, at the home of Mim's Uncle Frank and Aunt Leila Fox in West Lafayette. They lived happily ever after for more than 73 years.
Like many women with unusual assignments during the war years, Mrs. Hunley worked as a quality controller at the Western Cartridge Company in St. Louis making 50-caliber machine gun ammunition, while her husband attended Dental School at St. Louis University. "We worked six days a week: 8:00 - 4:00 for a month, 4:00 - midnight for a month, then midnight to 8:00 for a month. Everyone - men and women - worked very hard, because this was their contribution to the war effort," she said. Then, she and Dr. Hunley pursued a career with the U.S. Navy Dental Corps that included 11 duty assignments throughout the continental United States, while raising four children.
"When asked about our parents, I once described Mother as a professional homemaker - which was met with curious looks," said her daughter, Susan. "We moved every couple of years throughout childhood, and it was Mother's role to make us a new home wherever we went - which she did with the commitment, organization, and zeal of a true professional. Four kids, dogs and cats, a complete household - we were up and running in just a few days, and no one ever fell through the cracks."
With every new assignment and location, Mrs. Hunley worked with the Officers Wives Club, the Navy Relief Society, and volunteered many hours to the Navy Chapels. In 1965, she served as President of the Naval Dental Wives Auxiliary for the Greater Washington, D.C., Area for which she was honored by the Surgeon General of the Navy. Her husband once remarked that had he stayed in the Navy, it would have been Mrs. Hunley who would have made Admiral.
With her two oldest children in college, Mrs. Hunley took up golf. A keen and competitive player with her husband and friends, landing her first hole-in-one in 1997 and going on to become the Owen County Seniors Champion, she continued to play well into her 80s. When asked recently who had been the better golfer, she just smiled knowingly and with her signature wry humor said, "There are just some things you don't talk about."
The Hunleys traveled extensively, visiting all fifty states and several foreign countries, and stayed in touch with family and friends all over the country. They had the pleasure of living in the Washington area for nearly fifteen years until returning to Mim's "real home" in Spencer in 1978 following Dr. Hunley's retirement from Georgetown University.
Back in her hometown, Dr. and Mrs. Hunley enjoyed many years in the company of her extended family and their many lifelong friends. The Royer Sisters - affectionately known as The Neat Sisters - and their husbands lived within a few blocks of each other in their immaculately tidy homes and sang together in the Spencer Presbyterian Church Choir. The Royer family connection to Spencer dates back to the late 19th century when her grandfather Samuel Royer moved from Patricksburg and founded S.M. Royer, a general and dry goods store located on Main Street on the town square. Mrs. Hunley's mother grew up in nearby Stinesville.
Mrs. Hunley was active in the Spencer Presbyterian Church, the longest standing member of the congregation, singing in the choir, serving as an Elder of the Session, and chairing the Congregation Care Committee. She retired from the choir in 2002 after nearly 25 years.
She was a Vice President of the Local Council of Women of the Bloomington Hospital and a loyal supporter of Lions Club projects. She was also a member of Chi Omega Sorority, the Indiana University Club, the Oakland City University Honorary Alumni Association, and Tri Kappa Sorority. She was a constant source of energy, providing caring, strength and example to those about her.
"We were all fortunate to have had her in our lives as long as we did. She never spoke an unkind word about anyone, never complained, and always treated those around her with respect," said her daughter, Mary Jane.
Mrs. Hunley was preceded in death by her parents and three sisters, Wilma Royer Skinner, Betty Royer Stewart, and Mary Ann Royer Hogan, and her husband Ted just this past January. She is survived by her three daughters, Patricia Andrews of Louisville, Kentucky, Susan Van Buren of Baltimore, Maryland, and Mary Jane Rice of Boone, North Carolina; her son, David Hunley of Furlong, Pennsylvania; their spouses; eight grandchildren, ten great-grandchildren, and many nieces and nephews.
Her son David remarked, "Mother was amazing... strong, determined, beautiful and caring of all others right up to the end. She was - and is - a real angel to me."
Funeral services will be held at 2:00 p.m. on Friday, May 9, 2014, at the Spencer Presbyterian Church. Pastor David Lee and Pastor Diane Wells will officiate. Burial will follow at Riverside Cemetery. Friends may call on Friday, from 12 noon to 2:00 p.m. at the church. West & Parrish & Pedigo Funeral Home is assisting with arrangements.
In lieu of flowers, the family suggests that expressions of sympathy be in the form of contributions to the Spencer Presbyterian Church, 154 North Main Street, Spencer, IN 47460.
Spencer Evening World, May 7, 2014
Born Amelia Elizabeth Royer in Indianapolis on October 13, 1919, she was the second of four daughters of Ernest "Doc" Royer and Gladys Fox Royer. In 1925, she moved with her family to 15 East Hillside Avenue in Spencer where the family resided until the early 1960s. She was a graduate of Spencer High School, Class of 1937, where she served as Class Secretary and remained active in alumni events and reunions. She attended Indiana University, earning a Certificate in Elementary Education.
Mrs. Hunley taught school in Freedom where she met her husband, Theodore R. "Ted" Hunley, a young mathematics teacher and basketball coach at Freedom High School. Despite Doc Royer's admonition that a war was coming, the couple married on Thanksgiving Day, November 21, 1940, at the home of Mim's Uncle Frank and Aunt Leila Fox in West Lafayette. They lived happily ever after for more than 73 years.
Like many women with unusual assignments during the war years, Mrs. Hunley worked as a quality controller at the Western Cartridge Company in St. Louis making 50-caliber machine gun ammunition, while her husband attended Dental School at St. Louis University. "We worked six days a week: 8:00 - 4:00 for a month, 4:00 - midnight for a month, then midnight to 8:00 for a month. Everyone - men and women - worked very hard, because this was their contribution to the war effort," she said. Then, she and Dr. Hunley pursued a career with the U.S. Navy Dental Corps that included 11 duty assignments throughout the continental United States, while raising four children.
"When asked about our parents, I once described Mother as a professional homemaker - which was met with curious looks," said her daughter, Susan. "We moved every couple of years throughout childhood, and it was Mother's role to make us a new home wherever we went - which she did with the commitment, organization, and zeal of a true professional. Four kids, dogs and cats, a complete household - we were up and running in just a few days, and no one ever fell through the cracks."
With every new assignment and location, Mrs. Hunley worked with the Officers Wives Club, the Navy Relief Society, and volunteered many hours to the Navy Chapels. In 1965, she served as President of the Naval Dental Wives Auxiliary for the Greater Washington, D.C., Area for which she was honored by the Surgeon General of the Navy. Her husband once remarked that had he stayed in the Navy, it would have been Mrs. Hunley who would have made Admiral.
With her two oldest children in college, Mrs. Hunley took up golf. A keen and competitive player with her husband and friends, landing her first hole-in-one in 1997 and going on to become the Owen County Seniors Champion, she continued to play well into her 80s. When asked recently who had been the better golfer, she just smiled knowingly and with her signature wry humor said, "There are just some things you don't talk about."
The Hunleys traveled extensively, visiting all fifty states and several foreign countries, and stayed in touch with family and friends all over the country. They had the pleasure of living in the Washington area for nearly fifteen years until returning to Mim's "real home" in Spencer in 1978 following Dr. Hunley's retirement from Georgetown University.
Back in her hometown, Dr. and Mrs. Hunley enjoyed many years in the company of her extended family and their many lifelong friends. The Royer Sisters - affectionately known as The Neat Sisters - and their husbands lived within a few blocks of each other in their immaculately tidy homes and sang together in the Spencer Presbyterian Church Choir. The Royer family connection to Spencer dates back to the late 19th century when her grandfather Samuel Royer moved from Patricksburg and founded S.M. Royer, a general and dry goods store located on Main Street on the town square. Mrs. Hunley's mother grew up in nearby Stinesville.
Mrs. Hunley was active in the Spencer Presbyterian Church, the longest standing member of the congregation, singing in the choir, serving as an Elder of the Session, and chairing the Congregation Care Committee. She retired from the choir in 2002 after nearly 25 years.
She was a Vice President of the Local Council of Women of the Bloomington Hospital and a loyal supporter of Lions Club projects. She was also a member of Chi Omega Sorority, the Indiana University Club, the Oakland City University Honorary Alumni Association, and Tri Kappa Sorority. She was a constant source of energy, providing caring, strength and example to those about her.
"We were all fortunate to have had her in our lives as long as we did. She never spoke an unkind word about anyone, never complained, and always treated those around her with respect," said her daughter, Mary Jane.
Mrs. Hunley was preceded in death by her parents and three sisters, Wilma Royer Skinner, Betty Royer Stewart, and Mary Ann Royer Hogan, and her husband Ted just this past January. She is survived by her three daughters, Patricia Andrews of Louisville, Kentucky, Susan Van Buren of Baltimore, Maryland, and Mary Jane Rice of Boone, North Carolina; her son, David Hunley of Furlong, Pennsylvania; their spouses; eight grandchildren, ten great-grandchildren, and many nieces and nephews.
Her son David remarked, "Mother was amazing... strong, determined, beautiful and caring of all others right up to the end. She was - and is - a real angel to me."
Funeral services will be held at 2:00 p.m. on Friday, May 9, 2014, at the Spencer Presbyterian Church. Pastor David Lee and Pastor Diane Wells will officiate. Burial will follow at Riverside Cemetery. Friends may call on Friday, from 12 noon to 2:00 p.m. at the church. West & Parrish & Pedigo Funeral Home is assisting with arrangements.
In lieu of flowers, the family suggests that expressions of sympathy be in the form of contributions to the Spencer Presbyterian Church, 154 North Main Street, Spencer, IN 47460.
Spencer Evening World, May 7, 2014
Events
| Birth | 13 Oct 1919 | Indianapolis, Marion Co., Indiana |  | ||
| Marriage | 21 Nov 1940 | Owen Co., Indiana - Dr Theodore R Hunley | | ||
| Death | 2 May 2014 | Spencer, Owen Co., Indiana | | ||
| Burial | Riverside Cemetery, Spencer, Owen Co., Indiana | |
Families
| Spouse | Dr Theodore R Hunley (1917 - 2014) |
| Father | Ernest Earl Royer (1889 - 1977) |
| Mother | Gladys Norine Fox (1894 - 1990) |
| Sibling | Wilma Jean Royer (1918 - 1997) |
| Sibling | Betty Royer (1923 - 2013) |
| Sibling | Mary Ann Royer (1928 - 1999) |
Endnotes
4. Indiana Marriages 1811-1959, Where married, city or county, not listed.