Peter David Hunter

Peter David Hunter, of Deephaven, MN, died peacefully of pneumonia on October 11, 2024, surrounded by "his girls." He was 89.

Pete was the 3rd of 5 children born to Gladys Eileen ("Elsie") and Paul Edward Hunter II, on June 13, 1935, in Brooklyn, New York. He spent most of his childhood in Port Washington, New York, briefly attending the Williston Northampton school in Easthampton, MA and graduating from Port Washington High School in 1953. He played tight end on the varsity football team, was a church choirboy, and was a talented swimmer. He was a lifeguard at the local beach during his high school summers.

One of Pete's most defining life moments was the tragic and sudden loss of his father, the month before Pete was bound for college at the University of Vermont. With an acute sense of duty to his family, Pete immediately changed course by enlisting in the Army on the GI Bill. He immediately embarked, first to Fort Dix for basic training, and then to Fort Knox for training as a radio mechanic. He was later deployed to Baumholder, Germany for active duty. In 1955, he was honorably discharged before setting off for Babson College. There, he majored in Finance and distinguished himself in Blue Key Honor Society.

Upon graduating in 1959, Pete began his career as a hospital sales representative at the Kendall Company's Bauer & Black division. He sold medical products in Brooklyn and lower Manhattan until he began a management training program in Raytheon's Manufacturing Division.

It was during his tenure at Raytheon that Pete was set up on a blind date with Arden Blake Hunter, a Medical Technologist at New England Baptist Hospital in Boston, Massachusetts. Pete fell instantly in love, proposed three months later, and was married to Arden on April 6, 1963. He would often reflect that he was "born again" when he met Arden. They were an inspiration: faithful and loving companions for what would have been 60 years in 2023.

The same year they were married, their first daughter arrived and two more in succession. When Pete was offered a more senior position as Deputy Project Manager for Raytheon's NASA Logistics Project, Pete relocated the family from Littleton, Massachusetts to Severna Park, Maryland. Pete would often refer to this as one of the most joyful times of his life when he was able to cherish family time. He relished sailing on the Chesapeake Bay, crabbing with his little girls, and loved tinkering on the boat -even when it was stowed in the garage for the winter.

In 1976, Pete was offered a job as Senior Group Purchasing Manager for Digital Equipment Corporation. He accepted the job and he and Arden excitedly moved back to life in New England. They lived in Harvard, Massachusetts while Pete enjoyed many roles during his 15-year tenure at Digital. They raised the family there until his daughters graduated from college and he and Arden sought a slower lifestyle.

In 1991, Pete took an early retirement package at Digital and they moved down to Orleans, Massachusetts to start a new life. He took a position at the Real Estate Company, starting a second career selling houses. He loved it and was well-known for his congeniality, hard work, and integrity. Many of his clients became their best of friends.

Pete thrived in rekindling his life on the ocean. He bought a small boat "Local Color," and enjoyed motoring around the tributaries behind their house. He purchased 10 lobster traps and delighted in pulling up the traps to see what he had caught. He also loved sinking his size 13 feet in the mud while clamming, scalloping, or digging oysters. His eyes lit up when he would later offer an innocent bystander the raw delicacies -complete with a lesson on how to open them. And he and Arden loved packing up their Ford Expedition until it overflowed with tables, chairs, food and wine. Together with friends, they would release the air from their tires and drive out for a moonlit meal on Nauset Spit. It was quintessential Cape Cod living -and they were good at it.

In 2003, Pete suffered a brain aneurysm which almost took his life. With grace and courage, he and Arden decided they should move closer to Boston where healthcare was more accessible and they were closer to their children. They lived for the next 8 years in Pine Hills, a golfing community about 45 minutes from the city.

After all three girls were married, Pete and Arden followed their youngest and her family to northern Florida, where they enjoyed warmer climates. During this time, Pete and Arden relished the activity with their daughters and grandchildren, even thriving during covid while Pete often Zoomed his family on the big screen television.

In 2022, several years after moving into Westminster Oaks retirement community, Pete lost his beloved Arden to pneumonia. At the age of 87, he gracefully acquiesced to his daughters' wishes and moved north to Deephaven, Minnesota. He leased an apartment in Deephaven Woods Retirement Community, just a few minutes from his family. During his time there, he made a variety of new friendships and brought his own brand of cheer and whimsy to the other residents. He also brought joy through his piano playing. At one point, he handily installed wheels on his piano so he could push it throughout the building and serenade his friends on their birthdays. And, to the cheers of the other residents, he once played an improvised medley to fill in for someone who never showed up for a scheduled performance.

Pete was a survivor and believed one can surmount even the most difficult life circumstances through faith, love, and positivity. He overcame a myriad of cardiac issues while accumulating 11 stents, a cow valve, and a pacemaker in his heart, as well as a 12-hour emergency surgery to arrest a subarachnoid hemorrhage. Yet, he was clinical and curious when he discussed the cardiology issues that took his father at 49 and his grandfather at 42. If he could now reflect on his own fate, he might raise his two hands in his signature sign of victory: his heart afforded him a long 89 years and a life well-lived.

"Bdad" will be sorely missed. He had a wide circle of friends and family who loved his big heart, soulful reflections, and hilarious stories. Above all, he will be remembered for his loyalty, unwavering honesty, integrity, bravery in hard times, and his undying devotion to those he loved.

Pete was reunited in heaven with loving wife, Arden Blake Hunter, as well as older brothers Paul and Albert, his long lost Dad, and mother. He is survived by adoring daughters, Jennifer, Kathleen (Peter), Elizabeth (Stephen), and 9 grandchildren: Eliza (Daniel), Conor, Hunter, Caroline, Anna, William, Andrew, Blake, and Kye. He also leaves younger sister, Sally, younger brother, John, and a tribe of beloved nieces and nephews. A memorial and burial will take place in Wardsboro, VT, in Summer, 2024.