Ronald H. Hunt

Ronald Harvey Hunt

September 23, 1942 - January 26, 2023

On Thursday, January 26, 2023, Ronald Harvey Hunt, a loving husband to Angie, brother, father, uncle, and great grandfather passed away at age 80. He was beloved by all who knew him and will be tremendously missed.

Born to Iris and Harvey Hunt in Lautoka, Fiji, Ron spent an idyllic childhood in the islands where he attended Suva Grammar School before being sent to boarding school in Sydney at age 7. During weekends and term breaks, he lived with his grandparents George and Linda Kermode, along with his older sister, Penny Hunt. Whilst at Barker Boys College, he excelled at swimming and boxing. Much to Ron’s regret, Barker college did not become co-ed until after he had graduated.

Ron’s dream was to become an architect and he had a natural drawing talent, but in 1959, he returned to Suva where he worked for a year at the ANZ Bank before returning to Sydney in 1960 and then began his airline career with Ansett Airlines of NSW and then Qantas in 1963. Due to the demands of his family’s travel company, Hunts of the Pacific - the largest tour company in the South Pacific - he was required to return to Suva to work for the family business. During this time, he met his first wife, Jimmi, an American traveling on holiday from Southern California. They were married in Honolulu in 1968.

Ron left the family business and joined Canadian Pacific before being lured away to become General Manager for American Airlines at Nadi International Airport. Ron and Jimmi had two children together, Maile Anne and Travis. In 1974, Ron’s corporate career with American Airlines took his family to North America - San Francisco, Toronto, New York and Dallas - and his family happily followed him to each location. In 1982, Ron left American Airlines and in 1983 he opened the first USA office for the Fiji Visitors Bureau before starting his own company, Travel Arrangements, LTD.

Ron met the love of his life, Angie, and they had a barefoot sunset wedding on Vatulele, Fiji in 1995. As his daughter, I had never seen him so happy, as when he was with Angie. They were together 31 years and were a match made in heaven. Ron and Angie lived in Sonoma, California for many years, before moving to Palm Desert, CA and then finally, to Eloy, Arizona. They loved their 3 yellow labs and their “happy hour” martinis and playing chess together. In Ron’s younger days, he loved to fish and competed for Fiji in Sail Fin fishing competitions. At age 36, having never seen snow before, he learned to ski. In his later years, it was golf, spy novels, cross word puzzles, and building model airplanes.

Ron was a gentleman through and through. He always had your back. Friends have often said how generous and kind he was. One quoted after his passing, “I always had the impression that his time was a gift in itself and he made you feel like you were the most important thing to him in that moment.” His grandchildren loved listening to his epic stories about his childhood and would be in rapt attention during his Donald Duck impersonations. Ron had an amazing memory and a gift for storytelling, that enchanted both young and old.

In lieu of a burial, Ron has requested that his ashes be co-mingled with his beloved’s Angie, when that time comes.

The family would like to thank the Eloy Fire Department EMT’s, Banner Casa Grande Medical Center Emergency Department, as well as the Intensive Care Unit, and the physicians and nursing staff at Banner Heart Hospital in Mesa for their dedication and kindness during this difficult time.

In lieu of flowers, the family requests that donations be made in memory of Ron Hunt to: Bannerhealthfoundation.org You may wish to direct your gift to the “Banner Heart Hospital”