Individual Details

A Brief History of Elwin Hunt
written for a spotlight at the Thomas Elmer and Emma Day Hunt Family Reunion in the late 1990's

As Nephi of old would say, "Having been born of goodly parents", I Elwin Hunt was taught somewhat in all the learning of my father and mother, now make a record of my precedings in my days. I was born in the little old two-room home in Enterprise, Utah on the 24 of October 1915, at 9:00 a.m., with the help of Julia Ford as midwife. I was the fourth child born to Emma and Elmer Hunt.

I started school in Enterprise in what was then the new-built schoolhouse in September 1921, when I was six years old. My school teacher was Tillie Winsor from St. George, For the next twelve years, I attended school in the winter months and lived and worked up the canyon about ten miles at the "Hunt Ranch" during the spring and summer months. It was a wonderful childhood experience, especially growing up with seven brothers and two sisters.

As the years passed by, I grew in stature to about six feet tall. I started playing basketball early and it helped being a bit taller than most of my teammates. My first experience at it was in junior high - 7th and 8th grades. I remember distinctly our ball team going to a tournament in Caliente, Nevada. We had a good team, coached by Gerald Seegmiller of St. George. We didn't win the finals but we gave them some good competition. Then in high school, I played all four years. Grant Clove and I started during our freshman year and stayed with it all four years. I played guard the first two years, then I held down the center position the last two years. The players were: Grant Clove, Durward Hall, Lewis Hill, Merrill Terry and myself.

In 1927, we moved from our small two-room house down to Grandpa Day's house, since Grandma Sarah died, leaving Grandpa Day alone, and this way it would be easier for mother to care for him. It was during this period of time that Grandpa Day had asked me to was the dirt from his little Model "T" Ford, then he'd take me fishing with him up to the reservoir. He rigged up some fishing gear for me using an old piece of bamboo as a pole. He drove his little car, arriving there in the evening, and fished for a short time before it became dark. We each had a bedroll and slept out under the stars. We were up by daybreak the next morning, and had our breakfast over the campfire. As I remember, I only caught one fish that day, but Grandpa caught at least half a dozen. Mother cooked them after we arrived home and I remember how good they tasted.

In the spring of 1928, I remember as a boy scout of twelve years of age, our scout troop took a trip to Zions National Park and camped overnight. What a trip, and all of us in the back of Than Jonesu truck.

Mother and Dad had eleven children, so about every two years a new child was born. Three girls and eight boys.

In 1929, we moved from Grandpa Dayus back up to our small two-room house. Not long after that, Dad bought a larger frame house from down on the desert and had it moved to Enterprise and joined it on to our two-room home. It was really wonderful to have more room. Our summer days living at the ranch were happy days, in spite of all the hard work. We never had much money to spend but we never went hungry nor naked.

In the spring of 1934, I graduated from Enterprise High School, having been very active in sports and music.

In the fall of 193, I entered school at Dixie Jr. College. Raymond Farnsworth and I Sbatched-itT in a snall one-room granary, paying five dollars a month rent. Raymond was a pretty good cook so we survived. I was on the basketball team and active in all the activities and had an enjoyable time. After school ended that spring, my older brother Clair and his wife Madge had moved to Venture, California for employment, so I followed him for summer work. I worked in a lima bean plant, but when fall fame, I went back to St. George and dixie College. What fun! After completing my second year at college and graduating in 1936, I went back to California and obtained employment at Saticoy Lemon Packing House.

While living with Clair and Madge, I met and became acquainted with this beautiful blonde girl, Gene Snell. We soon realized we were madly in love with each other. On November 7, 1939, we were married for time and eternity in the St. George Temple. We went back to Oxnard, California and lived for a short time. In the spring we went to the Two Dot Ranch in Wyoming and lived until the fall, then moving to Brigham Young University in Provo, Utah. That December 7, Pearl Harbor was bombed and I was right in-line for the draft. I quit school at B.Y.U. and decided I would just have time to take the six month course in barbering before being drafted into the service.

So we moved to Salt Lake City and I enrolled in the Salt Lake Barber Courses. After six months, I graduated as a barber. I worked for about three months, as a barber, for Mat Lyons, then I was drafted into the United States of America Air Force. In February 1943, I went to Fresno, California for basic training school and was then assigned to the 100th Air Force Service Squarron in Augusta, Georgia in July 1943. We left the Port of debarkation in San Francisco in August 1943, sailing for the island of the South Pacific. We landed at Townsville, Australia about three weeks later. Then we moved up to Port Morsby, New Guinea. From there it was ShopscotchT up through the islands to the Philippines and then on to Okinawa. On December 1945, the SWar was OverT and we sailed for San Francisco and home, pulling into San Francisco Harbor on January 1, 1946. By the end of the month, I was released from the service and back home again. Hurray!

Soon after arriving home, we moved to Cedar City, where I barbered for Oren Taylor as a barber. I worked for him for about one year, then I went to work for Whitney Jensen as a Mortician helper for a year. But I didnut like this job, so we moved back to Salt Lake where Gene and I went to cosmetology College for one year and I graduated as a beautician. We moved to Ogden where I worked for J. C. Penney Company for two years as a beautician. We bought a home in South Ogden and on August 15, 1952, I was called to go on a mission to the Swiss-Austrian Mission for 2a years. I was ordained to the office of SSeventyT and set apart for my mission on October 17, 1952 by Richard L. Evans. I departed by train for New York City on October 20 and sailed by ship SSS AmericaT on my birthday October 24. I was thirty seven years old. It took us five days to arrive to LaHarve, France, then we traveled by rail to Basel, Switzerland where our mission home was. The first six months was spent in St. Gallen, then six months in Shaffausen and then I was transferred to Salzberg, Austria, where I remained for one year until I came home. I returned home to South Ogden, where I rented a beauty salon and I remained working in SHuntus Barber and Beauty SalonT for thirty years until I retired on my 65th birthday, October 24, 1980.

I served as a Councilor in the 49th Ward Bishopric for three years and eight months and was then called to serve on the Stake High Council for several years.


ADDITIONS:

El and Gene continued living in their home in Ogden. On 2 December 1997, Gene passed away after years of ailing heath. Elwin continued living alone in Ogden, but was visited often by his younger brother Preston. Preston and his children helped with many chores, which enabled Elwin to continue living alone. Eventually Elwin moved in with Preston. Prestonus load was heavy as his wife Darlene was struggling with her own health problems. Although other siblings offered help, Preston and his children shouldered the weight of helping Elwin care for himself.

In 2002, Elwin fell and broke his hip which made it impossible to stay with Preston. He was moved to a care facility in St. George where other siblings could be close enough to help. His brothers and sister stopped by often, as did neices and nephews. Elwin had a tender spot in many hearts and was visited often. Floyd was especially good to him while he was living in St. George - even insisting that he take Elwinus laundry home and do it to ensure it even the simplest tasks were done with love for Elwin.

Just as Elwin was starting to recover, he fell out of bed and broke the other hip. Although he was in terrible pain he was just as kind and genteel as he had been his entire life. He was always grateful for the help he received and did his best to not be a burden on others. Finally he was able to go home with Preston once more, where he spent his final days. He passed away in Prestonus home on 4 April 2003.

He was laid to rest April 11, 2003 in the Enterprise City Cemetery, Washington County, Utah beside his beloved Gene. FIELD NAME Page VALUE Thomas Elmer Hunt Family Group Sheet; about 19611975; Information entered with three pens: Original about 1961, additions ca. 1965 and 1975. _INFO P FIELD NAME Page VALUE Thomas Elmer Hunt Family Group Sheet; about 19611975; Information entered with three pens: Original about 1961, additions ca. 1965 and 1975. _INFO P FIELD NAME Page VALUE Thomas Elmer Hunt Family Group Sheet; about 19611975; Information entered with three pens: Original about 1961, additions ca. 1965 and 1975. _INFO P FIELD NAME Page VALUE Thomas Elmer Hunt Family Group Sheet; about 19611975; Information entered with three pens: Original about 1961, additions ca. 1965 and 1975. _INFO P FIELD NAME Page FIELD NAME Page

Birth	24 Oct 1915	Enterprise, Washington, Utah, United States
Blessing	5 Dec 1915	Enterprise, Washington, Utah, United States
Marriage	7 Nov 1939	St. George, Washington, Utah, United States - Norma Gene SNELL
Military	15 Feb 1943	WWII - Fresno, Fresno, California
Death	4 Apr 2003	Taylorsville, Salt Lake, Utah
Burial	11 Apr 2003	Enterprise, Washington, Utah, United States
Occupation		Barber, Beautician - Ogden, Weber, Utah, United States
Residence		Ogden, Weber, Utah, United States

Spouse

Norma Gene SNELL (1920 - 1997)

Father	Thomas Elmer HUNT (1882 - 1965)
Mother	Emma DAY (1889 - 1975)
Sibling	Ollie Philena HUNT (1909 - 1999)
Sibling	Geneva HUNT (1911 - 2007)
Sibling	Clair HUNT (1913 - 2002)
Sibling	Ellis Day HUNT (1918 - 2003)
Sibling	William Terril HUNT (1920 - 2005)
Sibling	Living
Sibling	Ivin Elmer HUNT (1925 - 2002)
Sibling	Living
Sibling	Larilla HUNT (1933 - 1933)
Sibling	Lorraine HUNT (1934 - 2005)