Ron Hunt

For those who could not be with us at the funeral, Chris and I shared this...

Our Dad (Ron Hunt) was the second son to Alf and Vicki Hunt, born on 31 December 1922 at home in Auburn, Sydney. It was New Year’s eve and right on midnight. It was so close to midnight that the midwife and the Doctor argued about whether it was December 31st or Jan 1st. Apparently his Mum remembers hearing the tail end of the church bells ringing and the tooting of car horns as she came out of the gas.
Dad was raised in and around the Eastern Suburbs of Sydney. He had a brother Jack, almost 2 years older and then a younger sister, Wilma who is 11 years his junior. He loved the beach. He spent lots of time swimming, body surfing, fishing and hanging out at the various Sydney beaches. He and his brother Jack later became life savers at Maroubra Beach.

When Dad was just a young boy, his father would take him to the Lodge to entertain the patrons with his singing, tap-dancing and poetry recitals. He was trained to be a performer, and would ever after be ready to tell a joke and even recently was able to recite whole poems off the top of his head.
Dad was a bit of an entrepreneur as a teenager. He sometimes skipped school so that he could earn money "caddying" for the pro-golfers at New South Wales golf club or "mucking out" at the local stables. Another inventive, but naughty way he made money, was when he pinched some flowers out of his mother’s garden and talked one of his mates into selling them back to her. The family had to be careful with money during the depression and often Dad was sent on the train (because his fare was cheaper than an adult’s) to collect the cooking rabbits sent in from the country grandparents.

From what Dad told us he was a bit of a larrakin who got into lots of mischief. Once he tied his girlfriend’s long plaited hair to a telephone pole so she would be there when he came back from lunch. He rode his baby sister’s pram down the steep streets and across tramlines, and he jumped off the rocks into the ocean and let the waves wash him back onto the rocks again.

When WW2 broke out, Dad put up his age to join the army along with his father and brother, Jack. He spent about 6 years in the army and was based in NSW, QLD and Victoria. He was trained as a gunner and a signaller. During this time he was bitten by a red back spider which paralyzed him from the waist down for a week. He was also injured in a truck accident and hospitalised with the mumps. In addition, his hearing was permanently damaged from the loud artillery noises.
After the war, Dad returned to Tallong where his mother was running a guest house and small orchard. When the guest house burnt down he moved to Goulburn to live. At the age of 23 he joined the Post Master General. He subsequently worked for the PMG in Coffs Harbour, Sydney and later returned to Goulburn.

Dad met Mum in Goulburn in 1948 through mutual friends. Mum already had a long term boyfriend but Dad was not daunted. He was one of those cheeky determined guys who didn’t give up. Dad and Mum enjoyed playing tennis, ballroom dancing and going to the pictures, sometimes with Dad’s younger sister Wilma in tow. They were finally married in Goulburn at St Saviour’s Cathedral in August 1954. (They celebrated their 50th wedding anniversary a couple of years ago, 1994).

Their first child, Chris, was born 5 years later. They then had to wait for another 5 years for their second child, Beth. Two girls for the kindest and most loving parents in the world. Dad used to make up stories and tell them to us, and pray with us at bedtime. We went on wonderful family holidays and had many adventures on farms, beaches, sapphiring and chasing opals. But when we saw roadside thickets and called out the word "blackberries!" Dad would put his foot on the accelerator and pretend he did not hear.

Dad worked as a teacher at the PMG training school in Goulburn, until 1970, when he was transferred with PMG/Telecom (which later became Telstra). The family moved with him to Canberra where he worked as a linesman and then a technical officer until his retirement in 1987. He always knew where the new suburbs would be built years beforehand as they were responsible for planning the new telephone cables.

The move away from Goulburn to Canberra was a traumatic one. All the family and friends we missed, but eventually we settled in and developed new friendships. In those early days many young families were new to the area and they became involved in church fellowships and small groups that continue today.
Dad took us back to Goulburn for regular "This is Life" rallies and we went to the Billy Graham crusades when he came out. Some of his favorite music comes from these times. Dad believed in Jesus as his saviour and had a strong Christian faith and commitment.

Life has been centered around our home in Scullin since 1971. Chris graduated school and began work in 1978. Dad and Mum took us on a trip to Indonesia and Singapore and Dad kept us very close the whole time, worried that one of his girls would get taken. You get to know each other in a whole new way when you are on a trip together. Dad was always there to take care of us.
He took us everywhere (swimming, horses, and gymnastics) and was always early and waiting to pick us up, any time of the day or night. As far as boys went, he would meet the new guy and casually saunter out with his baseball bat (or air rifle if he really disapproved) and lay the law down.

Beth left for a year in Japan after graduating in 1982. Chris claimed she’d never do such an awful thing to Mum and Dad, but within months, she too, was living overseas in South Africa. It was not until Dad retired and they left on their own big trip around Europe in 1987 that we had any real idea how hard it would have been for them to let us go.
Dad worked hard and carefully to provide for the family, but never at the expense of spending time with us. With Mum, he saved for their future financial security and also made sure we girls had what we needed. After he retired, they took themselves on various journeys around Australia and overseas.

Dad was a media junkie. He used to listen to the radio and play his reel to reel tapes and records. He loved TV and has a monumental collection of videotaped shows, as well as 1000s of cassette tapes. The frustrating thing is that we were unable to find his favorite song amongst his own collection.

Beth and Tom were married in 1989, so he finally got a son (in law) and they became great mates. When the first grandchild Steven was born Dad was there. He was almost 70 when he became a ‘Pop.’
Chris and Mark married in 1994. Dad finally gave up smoking after the stress of that event was over. They would often go to the coast with Dad and Mum and many a fish lost its life on their hooks.
3 more grandchildren were born: Leah in 1996 and Ruben in 2000. Chris and Mark’s tiny premature daughter Michelle also arrived in early 2000. They have been growing up with Pop and Nana around the corner and very strong influences in their lives.

Recent years, Dad has been a member of the Lawn Bowls club here in Hawker. He enjoyed the competition, friendship and food. It did not seem to matter how tired or miserable he felt most days, we noticed on bowls day he was chipper and ready to roll. Any bowls day was a good day.
Last year, family friend Helen recorded a series of interviews with Dad and wrote it up into a book called ‘Thereby hangs a tale’ that we have had printed. For that we are very grateful. He told a lot of stories, mostly about his younger days but we are so glad to have a written record.

In December last year Dad’s cancer was diagnosed, but he was well and active for the next few months. Trips to the coast, bowling, gardening, family gatherings and so on.
6 weeks ago Dad showed signs of being unwell and he deteriorated steadily, but all along he was able to keep track of where, when and what was happening. He ate well and slept long hours. Dad’s biggest concern was regarding Mum. He must have been more on the ball than us. Mum was hospitalised a couple of weeks ago and was diagnosed with cancer affecting both lungs. Dad was devastated, all of us were. We plead for prayer to ease this terrible blow.

2 days later, at 6am in pitch dark, I came in to find him bright and glowing, sitting there next to the bed with his dressing gown and wool boots on! He said he thought it was the middle of the day because it had been so light in there. He asked about Mum then he reassured himself, "You told me, didn’t you?" He was very accepting, happy and content. He started almost singing to the Lord, "Love you, bless you, praise you" over and over. Something really changed.
I read the daily bible verses in wonder the next day.
Isaiah 60:1 Arise, Shine, for your light has come, and the glory of the Lord rises upon you.
Proverbs 4:18 The path of the righteous is like the first gleam of dawn, shining ever brighter till the full light of day.
His favorite hymn had been "Heaven came down and glory filled my soul" and that’s exactly what happened.

Later that day Mum was released from hospital, and we had one more week together. Dad seemed so happy and never stopped praising and blessing God, saying he loved us and blowing kisses or winking. He slept almost constantly. Tom and Steve shaved off their hair because Dad was losing his from the radiotherapy. He simply glanced up at the baldy boys and said, "Looks good"
Last Friday night, Chris, Mum and I were there, when so suddenly, his breathing changed and he took a few quiet breaths. Our husbands and children were all with him at home when he died, so peacefully.

Many people have complimented the care we have given Dad and Mum, especially in recent weeks, but all I can say is we are the family that our dear parents produced, and who we are is because of them. It has been a team effort and we have been magnificently supported by many family and friends. Without help, we could not have been successful in keeping Dad at home, and we have definitely had joy and gained so much because of it.

Mum wanted to say how blessed she has been to have Ron as her husband. He expressed a love that she had never experienced and it was sustained throughout their lives together, and built a foundation for the family.
She is full of gratitude and thanks for all the loving support we have received, which has carried us through these difficult weeks.