Taylor Eliot Hunt

1993 - 2015

Taylor Eliot Hunt

Asheville - Taylor Hunt of Asheville left us on Wednesday, December 2nd, in a whitewater kayaking accident on the Sardinas Grandes River near Baeza, Ecuador.

Taylor was born August 29th, 1993, and spent his earliest years in the Nantahala Gorge community of Swain County while his parents worked at Nantahala Outdoor Center. He moved with his family to Asheville in 1995. There he attended Francine Delany School and Asheville Middle School before going to Baylor School in Chattanooga for a year. Taylor returned home, graduating from Asheville High School in 2012. During his time in middle school and high school Taylor enjoyed playing soccer and lacrosse, and was a competitive diver finishing fourth in the state championships in 2012. He found his team sport of passion in ultimate Frisbee. Taylor's imagination and flair showed through strongly with his involvement in slam poetry/spoken word program at Asheville High.

Taylor attended Guilford College - a school he choose for its emphasis on social consciousness - until deciding to take a break for travel and adventure last year. At Guilford he was captain of the ultimate Frisbee team. He worked summers as a counselor and instructor at Camp Mondamin in Henderson County. In recent years, Taylor developed a strong passion for whitewater kayaking. While kayaking was a sport he grew up with, it wasn't until his time at Camp Mondamin that he truly fell in love with it. He excelled quickly and was becoming one of the better paddlers in the Southeast. In the past few months he spent a large portion of his time with his brother training for the world-renowned Green Race and paddling some of the best and most challenging rivers in North Carolina. He had travelled to Ecuador in mid-November for a seven-week trip of whitewater kayaking and adventure, quickly finding community and friendship among fellow paddlers and locals in the small town of Baeza located on the Rio Quijos. His last months and especially his last weeks were perhaps his most joyous of all.

Taylor's infectious smile and presence warmed many, and he developed deep friendships everywhere he went. He will be missed by us all, especially by his brother, Colin Hunt, Colin's, partner Amy Marion, and by his parents, Marc Hunt and Cat Potts, of Asheville.

A memorial service and celebration of life will be held on Saturday, December 19th, 1:00 PM, at the Orange Peel at 101 Biltmore Ave. in downtown Asheville. Informal gathering of friends and family will occur there for one hour prior to the service and for one hour afterward. All are welcome. For those unable to attend, the service will be live-streamed on the web at http://ashevillechannel.com/the-best/taylor-hunt-memorial-service/

Taylor's brother, Colin, and parents, Marc and Cat, have established and committed initial funding for the Taylor Hunt Fund for Rivers and Outdoor Learning at the Community Foundation of Western North Carolina. Those wishing to honor Taylor's life and memory may join the effort and make tax-deductible donations online at www.cfwnc.org (click "Give Now" and indicate the "Taylor Hunt Fund"). Checks should be made payable to CFWNC, should indicate the "Taylor Hunt Fund", and mailed to The Community Foundation of Western North Carolina, 4 Vanderbilt Park Drive, Suite 300, Asheville, NC 28803. The grant-making fund will now and in future years support, among other things, protection and recreational enjoyment of rivers and outdoor learning opportunities for youth - two areas Taylor had passion for in his lifetime.