Wilbur Bill W. Hunt

Wilbur Warren Hunt was born on March 15, 1930 in Devereux, Georgia. Wilbur was the first of three sons born to Alvin Hunt and Mary Dell (Warren) Hunt, both deceased. He spent his early years growing up on the farm of his maternal grandparents, Jerry and Susie (Mathis) Warren. At the age of nine, Wilbur moved with his mother and two younger brothers, James Curtis (deceased) and Julian Frank to Brooklyn, New York where he would enjoy the majority of his life. Wilbur enlisted in the United States Army in January of 1948. He rose to the rank of Corporal and received a Korean Service Medal with 5 Bronze Service Stars for his service in the Korean Conflict. During his time in the Army, he was also stationed in Alaska, which would become one of his favorite places. In 1955 Wilbur joined the New York Police Department. He served several years in the mounted division which was very fitting considering his lifelong love of horses. During his tenure with the NYPD, Wilbur performed with the Horse Guard and competed at Madison Square Garden. On March 5, 1970 Wilbur received honors from New York City as a hero for diving into a frozen lake in Brooklyn’s Prospect Park to rescue a young boy who had fallen through the ice. Wilbur retired from the police force in January, 1975 but continued to work until the 1990’s. On April 11, 1969 Wilbur married Barbara Lou Hawkins. They have three children: Courtney Lorraine, Ronald Joseph (wife Lorna), and Dawn Victoria. Wilbur was the proud grandfather of Alexis R. (Knight) Mathurin, Alise R. Knight, Donovan J. Jones and Jonathan Enoch and Treasure Joy Hunt. A lover of music, Wilbur was an organizer and director of several male choruses; one of the founders of The Scholarship Glee Club and the Chancellor Senior Choir at Bethany Baptist Church of Brooklyn, New York. He was also a composer, classical pianist and piano tuner whose clients included major recording artists. Wilbur was a professional athlete having begun his boxing career in Brooklyn, NY in the early 1950’s under the name Billy Warren. He boxed as a middle and welter-weight in the United States Army and continued to box competitively at Madison Square Garden; he was asked by Sugar Ray Robinson to be his sparring partner. A Black Belt in Judo and avid fisher and skier, he also enjoyed baseball as a die-hard NY Mets fan. Wilbur was a terrific cook well known for his mashed potatoes and sweet potato pies. Wilbur gave his heart to the Lord as a child and was a faithful member and tither at his much beloved Bethany Baptist Church in Brooklyn, New York. He served diligently in the music department under the leadership of Rev. Kimball Logan Warren, Rev. Thomas J. Goodall and the late Rev. Dr. William Augustus Jones. He re-committed and re-dedicated his life to the Lord as an adult and became a founding member of Christ United Church International in Loganville, Georgia under the leadership of Apostles Daren and Valerie Phillips. Wilbur went home to be with the Lord on October 2, 2013. He was predeceased by his parents, grandparents, younger brother, James Curtis and best friend, Walter Prentice Dudley. He is survived by his loving wife, Barbara Lou Hunt; two daughters, Courtney Hunt (formerly Knight) and Dawn Hunt; son and daughter-in-love, Ron and Lorna Hunt; grandchildren, Alexis Mathurin, Alise Knight, Donovan Jones, Jonathan Hunt and Treasure Hunt; brother and sister-in-love Julian Frank and Inez Hunt; former son-in-law Harvey Kenneth Knight; sisters-in-law, Joyce Waddy, Janet Hawkins, Shirley Hawkins, Deborah Munro, and Patricia Lynn Hawkins; brothers-in-law, Joseph Hawkins and Daniel Robert Hawkins, first cousins, Ethel and Benny Corley, Juanita and William Randolph and a host of other first and distant cousins, nieces, nephews, and friends including special lifetime friends Yvonne Dudley, Jean Jackson, Joseph Mariner, Rev. Jasper Peyton and Rev. India Robinson.