Elizabeth Donohue Hunton

HUNTON

ELIZABETH DONOHUE HUNTON and HAROLD THOMAS HUNTON

Elizabeth Donohue Hunton, 96, passed away gently on June 9, 2021. Her husband, Harold T. Hunton, died gently on September 4, 2021, one month before turning 95.



They met in Brooklyn and married in 1952, started their family, and lived there for 13 years. In 1965, they moved to Tenleytown, DC, where they lived until moving to Bethesda in 1993.



Elizabeth was a legal secretary; a volunteer for many neighborhood, school, condominium and church projects; and a participant in many discussion and prayer groups. At the Church of the Little Flower, she was a Parish Council member, lector, greeter, committee member and a Communion Minister at Mass and to the homebound. Compassion, intelligence, curiosity, kindness and a lovely spirit characterized Elizabeth's friendships and her approach. She always stood up for the underdog.



Hal was a WWII Navy veteran, and was a government executive in civil rights programs, first in New York, and then for the federal government. He led the team that coordinated integrating the hospitals in Mobile, Alabama, and was among the federal civil rights staffers trying to protect the marchers at Selma in 1965. There local law enforcement and segregationist citizens were planning a night-time attack on the motel where Hal and his colleagues were staying, but a friendly warning allowed them to take clandestine refuge in the black community. He had a second career as a clinical social worker in Northern Virginia, and wrote articles for national journals in the fields of civil rights and family therapy. He served on the Boards of several national civil rights and ecumenical organizations.



Elizabeth was predeceased by her parents, Frank and Florence (McAuliffe) Donohue; her brother Francis X. Donohue; her sister and closest friend, Anne E. Donohue; and by her nephew and godson, Thomas Donohue.



Hal was predeceased by his parents, Harold Morris and Madelyn (Hanlon) Hunton, and by his sister-in-law, Marilyn F. Hunton.



They are survived by children, Christopher Hunton (Grace Metz); Mary Buchanan (Robert); Joseph Hunton; Anne Turner; and Kathleen Halse (Arnold); grandchildren Chelsey DiPasquale- Hunton; Sean Halse (Jessica); Kathryn Buchanan (Daniel Starck); Shane Halse (Sarah); Elizabeth Buchanan; Matthew Halse; Joy Turner and Joanna Turner; 5 great-granddaughters; Elizabeth's sister-in-law, Patricia Donohue; and Hal's brother and sister-in-law, Peter and Susan Hunton; and by many close friends and extended family members.



A memorial Mass will take place on Saturday, June 25, at the Church of the Little Flower, 5607 Massachusetts Ave., Bethesda, MD 20816, Visitation begins at 10 a.m., and Mass begins at 11 a.m.



The family requests that flowers not be sent and suggests that those who wish to make memorial donations do so to either The Sisters of St. Joseph of Philadelphia, Attn: Development Office, 9701 Germantown Ave., Philadelphia, PA 19118, or to Operation Smile at https://secure.operationsmile.org .