William Howard Hunt

William H. (Bill) Hunt of Bellevue passed away on February 22, 2011, he was 88 years old.

He was born June 14, 1922 in Bellingham to Roy and Gertrude Hunt. Roy was a dentist and Gertrude managed the family dental practice.

Bill grew up in Bellingham attending Bellingham Normal School for kindergarten, Washington Elementary, Roeder School, Whatcom High School for his freshman and sophomore years and the new Bellingham High School for his junior and senior years. He attended Western Washington College for his first year of college, then University of Oregon for his second year before enlisting in the Army Air Corps, where he served as a sergeant in the Pacific Theater during World War II.

After returning from the war he married his childhood sweetheart, Rosemary Longwood, graduated from the University of Washington and went to work for Pan American World Airways. In 1949 he took a leave of absence from Pan Am for post graduate study at the American Institute for Foreign Trade in Phoenix, AZ (now known as Thunderbird School of Global Management). After graduation he returned to Seattle and Pan Am. In 1955 he left the airline to purchase University Travel with his partner, Carl Helgren, who was also the Finnish Consul in Seattle. Over the years they build University Travel into a 14 branch company in the metropolitan Seattle Area.

In addition to his responsibilities with University Travel, Bill Hunt was active in the world wide development of the travel and tourism industry. From 1982 to 1984 he served as the President and CEO of the 25,000 member American Society Travel Agents and sat on various airline and tourism boards world wide. He traveled to 150 countries and met with presidents, kings and the pope. In 1987 he was awarded the Medal of Merit by King Juan Carlos of Spain and in 1992 was inducted into the Travel Hall of Fame. Locally he was a trustee for the Washington State International Trade Fair and the Seattle Chamber of Commerce. He served on the Board of Trustees for the Seattle-King Country Visitors Bureau and on the Advisory Council for the Salvation Army. He was a long time member of Rotary International, Washington Athletic Club, 101 Club, the Rainier Club and was a lifetime member of the University of Washington Alumni.

Bill Hunt is survived by Rosemary, his wife of 64 years, son Roger and his wife Linda of Bellingham, son Brad and his wife Debra Lynn of Bellevue, grandsons William, Steven and Joseph and great grandson Jayden, his brother John Hunt of Spokane and honorary son Hideo Tsuzuki, his wife Noriko, their children Rie and Hajime and grandchildren Shota William and Yurina Rosemary.

A celebration of Bill’s life will be held at both the Bellingham Golf & Country Club on March 10 at 1:00 and the Overlake Golf & Country Club in Bellevue on March 11 at 1:00. In lieu of flowers donations can be made to the Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center, PO Box 19024 Seattle, WA 98109.

Arrangements under the direction of Sunset Hills Funeral Home, Bellevue, WA.