Edward Joseph Hunt, 86, died at his home in Rocky Hill on Saturday, March 15, 2014, the same day Central Connecticut celebrated its Irish heritage with a St. Patrick's parade through the streets of Hartford. Ed, who survived prostate cancer and battled the debilitating effects of Parkinson's disease for 14 years, wasn't much of a celebrant but he was 100 percent Irish in his ancestry, quick wit and strong will. His great-grandfather, Diarmuid O Sé (Jeremiah Shea), was a principal figure in ""The Islandman,"" the Irish-language classic by Tomas O'Crohan about the rugged, forbidding conditions of 19th-century life on the Blasket Islands. Though the island off the Dingle Peninsula in County Kerry is now uninhabited, the Shea house on the Great Blasket Island still stands. Ed's grandfather, Thomas Shea, was also born on the Blaskets before joining two other siblings who emigrated to Thompsonville, Conn., starting in the late 1800s. Ed, born Sept. 11, 1927, in Springfield, Mass., was the son of the late Mary (Mamie) Shea and William Leo Hunt. He grew up in Thompsonville and spent many happy summers at the family's second home at White Sands Beach in Old Lyme. He graduated from the College of the Holy Cross in Worcester, Mass., in 1949 and joined the family rug and carpet business, Hunt & Shea, on Enfield Street. Ed eventually ran the business. But he found much better hours, and the woman who would become his second wife, Fay Pinto, when he started his second career in the 1970s at the state Department of Labor in Wethersfield. Ed, who lived in Wethersfield for many years, was an old-school, golden-rule type. He believed in honor and integrity in every part of his life. He believed a job should be filled by merit, not cronyism, and advocated on behalf of the state workers' union before his retirement in 1988. He was almost obsessively versed in all matters political, state and national, and had an uncanny familiarity with approaching weather patterns. His young children could expect no fewer than four daily newspapers in the house each day. He read non-fiction only, because what else mattered? Of course, he welcomed the new era of always-on, always-talking cable news punditry. He loved sports, particularly the Boston Red Sox. He also supported local minor-league baseball and University of Hartford basketball. Ed was unashamedly oblivious to contemporary fashion. Keep it simple, keep it classic. But please, dear Lord, note that the mid-'80s eyeglasses, which his oldest son called ""the Kreskin goggles,"" was Ed's choice alone. Ed had few vices. He didn't smoke or drink, though he couldn't resist a bag of salty potato chips. Once or twice a year he liked a day at the horse races or a doubleheader at Fenway Park. He'd be the guy in the grandstand sitting with his five children. Aside from his wife of 32 years, he is survived by four children from his marriage to Marcia Hunt of Rocky Hill: daughters Mary Ellen Dombrowski and husband John Dombrowski of Wethersfield; Kathleen Hunt and husband Jack Bluestein of Sarasota, Fla.; and Lisa Bowman of Wethersfield; and a son, Kevin Hunt of Glastonbury. He was also predeceased by his son, William Anthony Hunt, and his brother, William Leo Hunt Jr. Ed also leaves nine grandchildren: Matthew Noeker and wife Danielle of Farmington; Jill DeLisa and husband Justin of Glastonbury; Brittany Bowman and Brent Bowman of Wethersfield; Hilary St. Amand of South Windsor; Hannah Hunt of East Hartford; Kristin Dombrowski of Nashville, Allison Dombrowski of New York and Johnny Dombrowski of New York. He is also survived by two great-grandchildren, Jake DeLisa and Avery DeLisa of Glastonbury, and several nieces and cousins. Funeral services will be held Friday, March 21, at 11 a.m. at Corpus Christi Church, 84 Somerset St., Wethersfield. All are asked to go directly to the church. Relatives and friends may call on Thursday, March 20, from 5 to 7 p.m., at D'Esopo Funeral Chapel, 277 Folly Brook Blvd., Wethersfield. Instead of flowers, the family requests donations to the National Parkinson Foundation or the College of the Holy Cross. The family would like to thank Ed's caregivers, led by Luba Kusznir, with Mira Revedzuk and Roman Rudyk, for their dedication. Go gcasfar le chéile sinn aris. For online condolences, please visit www.desopo.com.
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