Elizebeth Jane Lilburn Hunt

Elizebeth Jane Lilburn Hunt (née Forth) died peacefully at her home in Slidell, LA on October 28, 2014. She was 82 years old. Beloved mother of Barbara Evelyn Hunt (of Dedham, MA), Carolyn Jean Hunt-Loga and her husband Emerson Phoenix Loga, III (of Slidell, LA), and Christopher Raymond Hunt and his wife Joanna Lynn Carter Hunt (of Tallahassee, FL). Beloved grandmother of Sarah Elizabeth Hunt Allen, Eleanor Catherine Hunt, Sterling Christopher Hunt and Ian Caldwell Hunt. Betty also is survived by her former husband Raymond Walter Frank Hunt and by dearly loved family and friends.

Betty was born in 1932 in Winnipeg, Manitoba, Canada, the youngest of seven children. Her father, Frederick Charles Forth, was a carpenter and an avid gardener. Her mother, Sarah Jane Forth (née Steele), was a homemaker who had been born in Scotland and passed along to Betty a love of all things Scottish and English.

Betty grew up in a family that loved sports and, as a teenager, she excelled in basketball, baseball, and track and field. Throughout her life she passionately followed football (Auburn Tigers, New Orleans Saints), baseball (Boston Red Sox), tennis, golf and curling. She loved everything about the Olympic Games.

After graduating from St. James Collegiate and Manitoba Teachers College, Betty began her teaching career, in 1952, in a one-room schoolhouse in Amaranth, Manitoba, with a single classroom of students ranging from grades 1 to 12. She went on to teach middle school for several years in Winnipeg.

Betty was married to Ray Hunt in 1954. During their marriage they lived in Winnipeg, Manitoba; Thompson, Manitoba; Milwaukee, Wisconsin; Youngstown, Ohio; Shaker Heights, Ohio; Coral Gables, Florida; Florence, Alabama; and Huntsville, Alabama. The family also spent many wonderful summers at their farm near Cascade, Wisconsin.

After raising three children, Betty returned to college in 1983, received her Bachelor’s and Master’s degrees in early childhood education from the University of North Alabama, and began teaching again.

In 1989 Betty was badly injured in a tornado in Huntsville, Alabama. With the help of outstanding medical professionals, and with the love and support of family and friends, Betty recovered, learned to walk again, returned to teaching and went on to lead an active life. She taught first and third grades at Ridgecrest Elementary School in Huntsville, Alabama until her retirement in 1998. Betty was a gifted and creative teacher who particularly enjoyed helping children learn to read. She loved her fellow teachers and remained close to her beloved principal, Mildred Haga.

In her later years, Betty lived in Lexington, Massachusetts; Dedham, Massachusetts; and Slidell, Louisiana. She loved to travel and particularly enjoyed trips back to Canada to visit family and friends. She also enjoyed memorable vacations in Cozumel, England, France, Ireland and Italy.

Betty loved pets and was particularly fond of cats. She also was an enthusiastic gardener who was passionate about birds and trees and was a long-time supporter of the National Audubon Society and the Arbor Day Foundation.

Relatives and friends of the family are invited to attend funeral services at Lake Lawn Metairie Funeral Home, 5100 Pontchartrain Blvd., New Orleans, LA on Friday, November 7, 2014 at 1:00 pm. Visitation will be from 11:00 am to 1:00 pm. Interment will follow in Lake Lawn Metairie Cemetery.