Douglas Hunt

Douglas (Doug) Hunt was born October 2, 1929 to William G and Minnie L Hunt. He is survived by his wife of 63 years, Katharina, and his children Douglas Hunt Jr (Karen Hunt)., Gabriele Bond (Fernando Bond), and Leon Hunt (Sue Hunt) and was preceded in death by his daughter, Terri Hunt. He took pride and joy in his eight grandchildren and thirteen great grandchildren.

Doug grew up in San Diego, California with his parents and three sisters, Zelmarie, Rosalee, and Mary. During his youth, he was particularly fond of Sunday post-church family dinners prepared by his mom and the occasional trip with his dad to the racetrack in Tijuana. Doug graduated from San Diego High School where he was a star football player. He would smile with delight when reminiscing about his high school championship games played at the Rose Bowl.

After graduating high school in 1948, Doug enlisted in the US Army where he spent the next 20 years of his life. The Army allowed him to develop an expertise in the technical, transistor, and radar fields in which he trained and mentored many under his leadership.

During his tour in Germany, Doug met his wife Katharina (Katie) whom he married in Bamberg in 1957. While serving, he also made many everlasting friendships including his strongest and most revered with his best friend Gerald Rose. These friendships provided Doug and Katie a with a global network of love and support and a large group of people with whom they could party and celebrate every occasion.

Doug was a proud soldier who earned various service and good conduct medals before retiring with an Honorable Discharge in 1968.

The skills picked up while in the US Army made for a smooth transition to a career in the private sector. During the infancy of Silicon Valley, Doug worked for Dalmo Victor, Fairchild Semiconductor, and finally Hewlett Packard. He also furthered his education by earning a degree from Pepperdine University.

During his spare time, Doug was an accomplished handy man. He operated a TV repair business with his good friend, Ben Littlejohn, built gadgets from scratch with diodes and transistors, took on large-scale home improvement projects, repaired cars, and owned three of almost every tool known to mankind!

Upon moving to San Jose in 1968, Doug developed a love for San Jose State football. He kept season tickets for over 40 years, starting with two seats and increasing to six as the family expanded. Section 111, Row 8 and his tailgate spot on the west side of Spartan Stadium were his Saturday destinations of choice and enjoyment for so many years. Just being there with the family made it a great day. A Spartan win made for a spectacular day. A member of both the Spartan Foundation and the Quarterback Club, he continued to support the team through rain, blowout losses, light failures, and very much enjoyed road trips with the team, wins over Stanford and Fresno State, and family tailgates. Being the consummate fan, “Did we beat Stanford?” was the first thing he said after waking up from his heart bypass surgery.

Doug’s ability to do the things he loved diminished during his later years, but he never lost his zest for life. Closest to his heart and most cherished were always his family, friends, and memories.