Mildred Gersten Hunter passed away at Compassus Bethany House in Auburn, Alabama on June 22, 2024 at the age of 97. She was born on September 7, 1926, in Columbus, Georgia to Susan Lenora and Leroy Henry Waller. She was preceded in death by her parents; her husband of 47 years, Felix Gersten; and her husband of 19 years, Bertrom Hunter.
Visitation will be Friday, June 28 from 2:00 to 3:00pm at Striffler-Hamby funeral home in Columbus, GA. The funeral service will begin a 3:00pm.
In lieu of flowers, the family requests donations be mailed to Bethany House at 1171 Gatewood Drive, Building 100, Auburn, AL, 36830.
Mildred is survived by her son, Steven Gersten (Cindy); her daughter, Susan Miller (Roger), granddaughters Jennifer Bledsoe (Brandon) and Michelle Gersten (Aaron Weiss), and great granddaughters Kennedy and Reagan Bledsoe.
She was a long-time resident of Columbus, Georgia where she was a 1944 graduate of Columbus High School. She earned a bachelor’s degree from Tift College, and a Master’s of Education in Administration and Guidance from Auburn University. Her greatest joy was working with students in her role as Guidance Director and Counselor. She was proud to say she “opened” Kendrick High School with its first graduating class. She truly loved her students and always hoped she had made a difference in their lives.
She met Felix Gersten, her husband and father of her children, in 1947 during his assignment as an officer at Fort Benning. They married three months later and began life as a military couple serving our country in Fort Carson, Colorado; Rock Island Arsenal Garrison, Illinois; Fort McClellan, Alabama; and abroad in Germany and Japan.
In support of Felix’s role as a Free Mason, she was a lifelong member of the Order of the Eastern Star and was initiated in the organization in 1949. She held consecutive memberships in the Fort Benning (#278), Augusta Evans (#177), and Columbus (#261) chapters in Georgia. She received a 50-year service pin and served as Worthy Matron, Associate Matron, District Grand Deputy, and held all points of the star stations. Her Columbus Chapter sisters remember “her eyes were always sparkling with joy, mixed with a little mischief, and she always seemed to enjoy life.”
In 2015 she earned a 50-year membership pin from Alpha Delta Kappa, an International Honorary Organization for Women Educators, having joined Pi Chapter in May of 1965. She held the office of Pi Chapter president from 1970 to 1972. She served in numerous leadership positions at the chapter and district levels throughout her years of active membership. Her sorority sisters describe her as a leader, a graceful, beautiful Southern lady, delightfully smart, who always had a smile for everyone.
She will be greatly missed for her “quick to forgive, slow to anger” demeanor, her positive attitude, and her sense of adventure made even more evident by her later in life hobbies of sailing and motorcycling.
The family would like to thank Lillie Freeman and Dorothy Turk for so greatly enriching the quality of our mother’s life during these past few years. Their compassion, caregiving, and love for her has left a lasting impact on our lives and will never be forgotten.
