ELEANOR HUNT

1923 - 2020

HUNT Eleanor Conly Hunt Eleanor Conly Hunt amazing life ended at age 96 on June 26, 2020. She was born in 1923 on her family's large farming ranch in Asherton, TX. Eleanor said that her four brothers expected her to be "tough like a boy". She was riding her own horse at age 3, and was a tomboy who referred to herself as a "cowboy". This early self-description is amusing, because the rest of her life, she was known as a very gracious lady and hostess at the highest levels of international affairs During the Depression and Dust Bowl, the water table became salty, and the fertile ranch turned to sand. So her widowed mother, who had been running the ranch (though trained to be a concert pianist), moved her six children to Laredo, TX. Eleanor graduated from the University of Texas, where she was active in Kappa Alpha Theta sorority. She remained active in Theta for 50 years, serving at all levels and roles, culminating as Grand Vice President. In 1946, she married diplomat Frederick Talley Drum Hunt, an 8th generation native of Washington DC. They were soon sent to the idyllic island of Martinque in the French West Indies, and a year later, their son Fred Hunt, Jr. was born. Eleanor was the first American to stay on the island to give birth. That gesture was deeply appreciated by all levels of the local population as a gracious sign of respect and trust. Consequently, when baby Fred was born, the cathedral, which was the central communication point of the island, rang its bells for seven hours in celebration. The next seven years was a flurry of postings around the world with her husband's diplomatic work on the most important treaties and international agreements of the era (1949 Japanese Peace Treaty, NATO, GATT, SEATO, etc.), and Eleanor played an active social role with delegates of other countries in these events, which could take months or years. A major news magazine pictured Eleanor energetically speaking to an international group of ladies, and titled the picture "voice of America". The longest posting was in Djakarta, Indonesia in the uncertain first years of independence of that country. She gained respect for her gracious-but-firm and fearless handling of the restrictions placed on women in that culture. During all these years of frequent moves around the world, living in hotels, and with almost constant social events and duties, she was also a very active mother, playmate and friend for young Fred. She coined the term "we three" for the extremely close family unit. In every country, Eleanor and Fred made a point to interact mostly with the local population and diplomats from other countries. Eleanor was a quick-study in new cultures and customs, and from the lowly to royalty. She was also an adept hostess who could seemingly-effortlessly arrange a formal dinner or party at home for two-dozen or more guests in less than a day's notice. The family returned to Washington DC in 1954, and settled in Westmoreland Hills in Bethesda, MD until 2007. Together, they started and ran a foreign trade consulting firm verifying the contradicting trade data issued by different countries. Clients included all the major US office machine companies who used the more-accurate data for their marketing and expansion planning. Meanwhile, many of the diplomats and locals they had known in other countries were assigned to Washington as Ambassadors of their countries or as visiting VIPs, so Eleanor and Fred had a whirlwind social life with international friends and "old Washingtonians" Eleanor, who had always been squeamish in hospitals and medical surroundings, provided heroic care during her husband's five year cancer illnesses. He died peacefully in her arms in 2000, with his last words "Thank you for taking care of me. I love you." Eleanor is survived by her son, Frederick D. Hunt, Jr. and his wife, Casey, of Bethesda, and two grandsons, Andrew Graham Hunt of Washington, DC, and Michael Frederick Hunt (Sarah) of Philadelphia, plus great-granddaughter, Joanna and great-grandson, Finn-Michael. Interment will be private. Interment will be private.