Wanda Atwood Hunter

Wanda Dunn Atwood Hunter, 93, passed away peacefully Sunday, January 8, 2017, after a brief illness. She was born in Brunswick, GA, on December 7, 1923, in the second year of the marriage of Annabell Dunn Atwood and Robert Black Atwood. While still a toddler, she and her parents and older brother Argyle moved to Valona in McIntosh County, the long-time home of the Atwood family. She lived in Valona through high school and again from 1969 until her death.

Wanda graduated from Darien High School in 1941 and went to Shorter College in Rome, GA where she completed her freshman year before returning to Brunswick in the spring of 1942 to be with her mother and younger brother Bobby when her father re-enlisted in the Army for the duration of World War II. (He served with distinction in WWI as well.) In November 1943 she married her childhood friend and sweetheart, Owen Hunter of Cedar Point. Owen had announced to the world when he turned 12 that he was going to marry Wanda Atwood, and he was true to his word. They had almost forty years of life together until Owen’s death in 1983.

Wanda was never idle. She taught at St. Mark’s Church Kindergarten for several years, was Society Editor for the Brunswick News, Secretary for St. Mark’s Church, and was always active in both politics and church programs. When her older child graduated from Glynn Academy in 1964, she decided to continue her interrupted education and enrolled in the Associates program at Brunswick Junior College, where she was a member of the first graduating class in 1966. For the next half century she was a devoted alumna and supporter of the College.

In 1969 she and Owen returned to Valona fulltime and re-entered the shrimping business. As usual, Wanda remained active in the community. During this period she was a reporter for The Darien News and had the occasional article published in the Atlanta Constitution and the Florida Times-Union. She ran the Darien Insurance Agency for many years. She was active in St. Andrew’s Episcopal Church, where she served on the Vestry as Junior Warden and later as Senior Warden, taught Sunday School, worked in the Thrift Shop, represented the Parish in various Diocesan roles, and led the Church Outreach Program which provided financial assistance to those in need of housing or health care.

In addition to her service to St. Andrews, Wanda volunteered by mentoring elementary students and created a program of awards for elementary school children in McIntosh County who consistently demonstrated good character and compassion for others. She donated a collection of rare books from the WPA Federal Writers’ Project to the public library in Darien.

Throughout her life, Wanda was directly involved in political activities. She worked on numerous local, state and national campaigns, including the Johnson campaign in 1964 and both Carter campaigns in 1976 and 1980. In 1985 she was part of a delegation to the USSR led by Lt. Governor Zell Miller and was later appointed by Governor Miller to serve on the State Licensing Board for Practical Nurses. For a quarter century she served as Chairperson of the McIntosh County Democratic Party. Whenever possible she wore pantsuits this past autumn. Quietly, she and Owen both supported the Civil Rights movements in the 1950s and 60s.

Wanda Hunter was a child of the McIntosh marshes and never lost her love for fishing, gathering oysters or clams, casting for mullet, or just enjoying the sights and sounds of the marshes as the tides ebbed and flowed. When asked what she would like for her 93rd birthday in December, she replied firmly and simply “An oyster roast in my house with my family.” And that is exactly what she had.

Wanda Hunter, known to her generation of family as Bootsie and by her children’s and grandchildren’s generations as Mim, was a devoted daughter, wife, mother, grandmother, great-grandmother, community citizen, mischief-maker, superb fisherwoman, and model and mentor for many. She was preceded in death by her husband, Howard O. Hunter, Jr. and brothers Argyle P. Atwood and Robert B. Atwood, Jr. She is survived by her son Howard Owen Hunter III (Susan), daughter Annabell Atwood Hunter Sykes, granddaughters Emily Hunter Plotkin (Mark) and Melissa Ann Sykes Francisco, and great-grandchildren, Hunter Plotkin, Neil Plotkin and Emmeline Grace Francisco.

Services will be held at 10 am, Friday, January 13, at St. Andrew’s Episcopal Church, Darien. A brief reception will follow in the Parish House. Burial will be private.

Arrangements are entrusted into the care of Edo Miller and Sons Funeral Home www.edomillerandsons.com