Arvel Hatch Hunter

Arvel Hatch Hunter, 92, passed away Sunday, June 29th at home in Wilson, NC. He moved from Florida to North Carolina to live with his daughter, Lynda and her husband after the death of his wife, Gennie in 2011.

He was a World War ll veteran and fought in the Battle of the Bulge.

Dr. Hunter was an Agronomist and well known in his field. He received his Bachelor’s Degree from Brigham Young University, his Master’s Degree from Ohio State University and his PhD. from North Carolina State University.

He was a research scientist specializing in soil fertility to improve crop production.

He developed systems and invented equipment for testing soils and set up laboratories throughout the world. Outside of work, he was an avid fisherman and boater.

Arvel was a life-long member of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.

He served as a missionary for the Church in the North Central States Mission from 1947 to 1949. Arvel had many callings in the church including serving as Bishop of the DeLand Ward from 1979-1985. In later years, he indexed close to 500,000 names for genealogy purposes.

He is survived by his daughter, Lynda (Les) Smith, his daughter, Marsha (Doug) Paletsas and his son, Carl (Cris) Hunter. He was preceded in death by his first wife, Elayn Allen Hunter,who died in childbirth, his second wife of 60 years, Genavieve Webb Hunter and his son, Alen Baird Hunter. He is also survived by his sisters, Fae Larkin and Mae Rudd, and his brother, Carl Hunter. He has 15 grandchildren and 26 great-grandchildren.

Services will be held at the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints in DeLand, Florida on Saturday, July 5th with a viewing from 10:00 - 10:45 am and funeral services at 11:00 am.

In lieu of flowers, the family suggests that donations be made to the Humanitarian Fund of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. Donations may be made at https://donate.lds.org