Donald V. Hunter III

Donald VanOsdol Hunter III was born in Bethesda, Maryland on October 31, 1949 to Donald V. Hunter Jr. and Eleanor (Mahoney) Hunter. The Hunter family eventually moved to Centerville, SD, and resided on their family farm for many years. Growing up the middle child between siblings Ann and Mike, helped to build Van's strong character and colorful sense of humor. The core memories from his days on the farm remained with Van. His children & grandchildren adored listening to stories of the many adventures, shenanigans and lessons learned during his farm boy days.

Van also had many endearing stories of his days at Riverside Country School and Centerville HS, class of 1968. During HS, Van broke track records, stood out on the Tornadoes football team and tapped into his musical talents by starting a HS garage band; The Baroques. Van often laughed as he recalled traveling to play at gigs in an old, dilapidated hearse.

Van went on to study at the University of South Dakota, graduating with his BA in Mass Communications. While at USD, he was involved in several scholastic organizations. He also enjoyed being a member of the TKE fraternity, Strollers, and being a "Brother of Bordeaux" for the Alpha Phi sorority.

In 1970, Van married Suzanne Radigan. Their union of eleven years blessed Van with 2 daughters, Alison and Jenifer. During that time, Van worked on the family farm before enlisting in the military. He proudly became a Marine Corps Fighter Jet Pilot, specializing in the Harrier and the A-7 aircraft. He was stationed several places around the US and on board ship.

Van then returned home to Centerville, SD, where he enjoyed living with his mother on the quiet, tree lined bank of the Vermillion River. He began flying with the SD Air National Guard, honed his craft in woodworking and became lead singer/guitar/banjo player with the blue grass band, Hidden Timber.

In 1985, Van met and fell in love with his current wife, Mary Jane (Carlin) Iverson of Vermillion, SD. Mary Jane had 3 daughters, Tiffany, Jennifer and Carlen, from a previous marriage. In 1986, Van's budding career with Southwest Airlines took him to Albuquerque, NM. Soon after, Van and Mary Jane were married on holy land in the Sandia Mountains. They eventually moved to those same mountains and resided in Cedar Crest, NM for the next thirty years.

During time in NM, Van and Mary Jane enjoyed living in their mountain home, entertaining, and hosting jam sessions with world renowned blue grass musicians. They often travelled to make memories with each grandchild. Whether it was fishing, building dragons, performing preschool concerts, attending award ceremonies or cheering on the Grands with their sports, Grampy and Granny loved being present in the lives of their expanding family. The grandkids felt the bond and especially enjoyed summers at "Camp Grandpa and Grandma”.

Also during this time, Van perfected woodworking and continued his passion for music. He started a woodcraft company and greatly enjoyed training the best employees, his kids! He formed a blue grass duo, The Border Brothers and took this team on the road. Van continued his duty flying with the New Mexico Air National Guard T.A.C.O's, while simultaneously advancing in his commercial airline career with Southwest Airlines. He was highly regarded in this industry not only as a respected pilot, but also as The Captain who would open his white guitar case and happily sing his crew and passengers a tune. In 2004, Van took an extended medical leave from flying, as he battled a severe bout of acute lymphoblastic leukemia and completed a stem cell transplant. At the time of his commercial airline retirement in 2014, Van accrued maximum hours as First Officer and logged in over 15,000 flight hours as Captain with Southwest Airlines.

In 2015, Van and Mary Jane moved to Arizona to be closer to family, his newest medical team and their new Catholic church.

Van's retirement years were fraught with many medical challenges. Van courageously faced residual cancer treatment side effects, multiple strokes, hydrocephalus, brain surgery and vascular dementia. However, these years were blessed by the immeasurable love, comfort and support from his wife, his children, his grandchildren, and most importantly, Van's unwavering Catholic faith.

Van was a true believer. His faith was strong and prominent in all aspects of his life. Van earned the highest degree of the Order as a 4th Degree Knight of Columbus, while a parishioner at Holy Child Catholic Church in Tijeras, NM. He led his family by faith and was most proud when sponsoring his grandchildren through their sacraments, singing our family version of "Amen", and reciting prayers together. Van's faith remained steadfast during his compounding health challenges and he truly believed he experienced many miracles in his lifetime. In the end, Van's miracle for us, was the ability to still know, recognize and express love for his family. We are comforted knowing that between his Irish Luck and his devotion to his faith, Van is at peace and at Home with the Lord.

Over the course of Van's life, he became an accomplished musician, a skilled military and commercial airline pilot, a talented artisan, an app developer and a published author. He was a beloved son, brother, husband, father, Papa Bear and the best Grampy ever. Van was loved deeply and his love for his family was extraordinary.

Van is survived by his wife of thirty-seven years Mary Jane Hunter, his five daughters; Tiffany (Dr. Richard Jr.) Nocella of Dolgeville, NY, Jennifer Peters of Chandler, AZ, Alison (J. Andrew Lindholm) Hunter of New York, NY, Carly Hunter of Chandler, AZ, Jenifer (Mike) Jost of Fremont, NE, his eleven grandchildren and 1 great grandchild; Andrew, Claire, Christopher, Abbie, Adam, Aiden, Sylvie, Brenden, Jack, Ellie, Liam and Calliope, his sister Ann (Mike Ward) Hunter, of Dear Harbor, WA, brother Mike (Julie) Hunter, of Scottsdale, AZ, brother Ben (Ceason) Hunter, of Centerville, SD, and his many nieces, nephews and cousins.

Van is preceded in death by his parents, Don and Eleanor Hunter and his son-in-law, Michael J. Peters.

Services will be at a later date. The funeral mass will be held at St. Steven’s Catholic Church in Sun Lakes, AZ, followed by private interment with Military Rites at Valley of the Sun Cemetery in Chandler, AZ.

In Memoriam, please consider a donation in Van's name to the Leukemia and Lymphoma Society, the National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke, or the Association for Frontotemporal Degeneration (AFTD).

Condolences may be expressed to the family online or mailed to: Hunter Family c/o Carly Hunter, 5372 W. Dublin Court, Chandler, Arizona 85226