CAROLE HUNT

1935 - 2022

HUNT--Carole Joy. Our beloved Carole Joy Hunt passed on July 4, 2022 peacefully in her sleep. In the words of a younger friend with whom Carole learned to dance Zumba during her eighties, "It fits that she died on July 4th because she epitomized the plucky, moral, joyful, caring American spirit". Carole, who brought radiant light into the lives of those who knew her, will forever be remembered with fireworks. Carole was born in Brooklyn New York in 1935, where she was known as a prodigious roller skater who could keep pace with the boys. At the Packer School, she began her lifelong devotion to education. She convinced her father that women too should enjoy higher education and matriculated to Connecticut College, where she studied English. For the rest of her life, her heavily annotated Shakespeare volumes remained in her bedroom, and she was always reading at least one book. After college, she traveled the world before returning to New York to work at Time Inc. It was during this period that she met her future and much adored husband Jim. Carole turned her boundless energy to raising her three children. Throughout the seventies, she could be seen by day in tennis attire and sneakers, engaging, reading, and playing with her children, and in the evening dashing off with Jim, in colorful gowns and big jewelry before it was fashionable. Often, it was off to the Philharmonic, which Carole, a lover of music along with Jim, supported in various roles for years. As a mother, she set high standards and allowed her children space to find their own identities, make mistakes, excel on their own terms. She led by example, embodying discipline and integrity and taking a true and focused interest in life and all her endeavors. Carole cared deeply about education, particularly for girls. For years she was a member of the Board of Trustees of The Spence School in New York, eventually serving as the Chairperson. She remained on Spence's advisory council until her passing. She loved tennis and played hard, but she cared more about the quality of the points than the score. She loved to go to the US Open, and for years she ran the Tennis Committee of The River Club, which she adored. She also loved history and literature and ran the International Visitors Committee at The Colony Club. She was deeply interested in foreign affairs, paid close attention, and had an informed view. More than anything, Carole was a personality, and it is fitting that her middle name was Joy. She was exuberant, energetic, curious, humorous, thoughtful, warm, inclusive, positive, zestful. She was a tireless advocate for the organizations and the people she cared about, starting with her husband and children and grandchildren, and extending to her network of friends of all ages. She was constantly thinking of ways to make other people's lives better. She will be remembered smiling, laughing, dancing, asking and listening, snapping her fingers to Carole King or Dionne Warwick music, Christmas necklace flashing, illuminating a room with the happy and grateful glow of someone who loved life. Carole is survived by children James (Edwina), Jeffrey (Dariane) and Stephanie (Stephen) and grandchildren Alastair, Marina, Cosmo, Isabel, Alexi, Nicola, Averell, and Olivia, and Olivia's father Julian. A celebration of her life will be held in New York on September 30, 2022.