Still Hunter Jr.

Still was born in Jasper, AL to Ora Anderson Hunter and Still Hunter on April 26, 1939. Still attended Walker County High School, where he stood out as a student and a citizen. Most notably, Still was an Eagle Scout, editor of the school yearbook and was named a National Merit Scholar in 1956, a year when only 555 were awarded nationwide. There was no surprise that Still was voted “most intellectual” in high school. Still graduated in 1956 with lifelong friends from Walker County High School. He went on to study Mechanical Engineering at the University of Alabama where he was a member of Sigma Alpha Epsilon fraternity.

Still continued to thrive academically at Alabama. Still participated in ROTC and was awarded membership into the national society of Scabbard and Blade in 1959. Academically, Still was awarded the School of Engineering’s highest academic honor, Tau Beta Pi, in 1959. He was also recognized for his outstanding collegiate leadership and scholarship with induction into the Omicron Delta Kappa Honor Society in 1960. However, Still always knew how to have fun and his fondest memories from college were made with his fraternity brothers at the SAE house and at Alabama football games. Still graduated in 1961 with more lifelong friends. He remained an avid Alabama Football fan, rarely missing watching a game with his sons, until his death.

Upon graduation, Still enlisted in the army. He served in the army from 1961-1968, on active duty from 1962-1964. He was stationed in Germany and discovered a deep love for travel while living in Europe. Once honorably discharged, Still went to work for Exxon in Baton Rouge, LA. However, his love of learning called him back to continue his education, first at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology and then at Harvard Business School. It was at Harvard that Still cultivated yet another group of lifelong friends. He graduated from HBS in1968 but would continue to travel with his classmates well into his 80s.

Still moved to Birmingham, AL, in 1968 to work for the Harbert Corporation. He lived in Birmingham for the next 50 years and raised his family there.

Still discovered his passion for real estate development while at Harbert. During his tenure, Still most notably played a key role in the development of Riverchase, a 3,000 acre planned development that was eventually annexed into Hoover, AL. Still left Harbert in 1981 to form Hunter and Associates, his own real estate development firm. At Hunter and Associates, Still developed or was a partner in developing several oceanfront condominiums including Navarre Towers in Navarre Beach, FL, the Riverchase Galleria in Hoover, AL, and many other residential and commercial developments throughout the greater Birmingham

area. Ever the academic, Still went back to class in 1995 to achieve the Chartered Financial Analyst designation, which he was awarded in 1998. Still never officially retired from work and had a development project going in NC as an octogenarian. He received many awards and recognitions for his work in real estate and contributions in mechanical engineering throughout his lifetime.

Still attended many churches with his children over the years, but ultimately found his church home at Canterbury United Methodist Church in Mountain Brook, AL. He especially loved his Sunday School class, the Crawford Owen class.

A love of travel and learning, as well as a great sense of pride in his southern roots and ancestry, led Still to be an avid student of genealogy. He was known to take his children on trips in the southern US and to Scotland with a day built in to look at records and research the Hunter lineage. Still was proud of his Scottish heritage and served as the president of the St. Andrew’s Society of the Middle South in the early 1990s.

In addition to Birmingham, Still also made a home in Highlands, NC after his three children left Birmingham. In his 87 years, Still never met a stranger. As he did at every stop along the way, Still found another group of lifelong friends in Highlands. Still spent the last few years of his life around his grandchildren and family, primarily in Fort Lauderdale, FL, where his two sons and their families reside. His three children and their families loved spending time with him in FL and he was happiest around his grandchildren and children...and when Alabama was having a good football season. Above all his other pursuits, Still was a devoted and loving father and grandfather, completely committed to the well-being of his children.

Still is survived by his daughter, Elizabeth (John) Ferguson of Rumson, NJ, his son, Still (Valerie) Hunter III of Ft. Lauderdale, FL, his son, Rob (Amanda) Hunter of Fort Lauderdale, FL, and his niece, Libby Debrabant (Mike) of Pensacola, FL. He had six grandchildren: Caroline and John Ferguson, Jr., Ottilie and Still Hunter, and Mackenzie and Madilyn Hunter. Still was predeceased by his father, Still Hunter, his mother, Ora A. Hunter, his sister, Elizabeth Hunter Murray, his niece Teresa Murray Ferrill and his niece Melissa Murray Pearman.

There will be a celebration of life service in Fort Lauderdale, FL on Sunday, June 7, at 2pm at Fred Hunter’s, 718 S Federal Hwy. A reception will follow at the home of Valerie and Still Hunter III.

A burial and small graveside service will take place on Monday, July 20, at 10:30am at Oak Hill Cemetery in Jasper, AL. A reception will immediately follow at The Sanctuary, 1409 5th Ave South, Jasper.

The family requests that in lieu of flowers, memorials be made to Tunnel to Towers Foundation: t2t.org.