Jim “Jay” Hunter

About Jay

Jim “Jay” Hunter, 78, passed away December 20, 2021, in Wichita, KS.

He is survived by his beloved wife Trish (Callen) Hunter of 23 years; son Jamie (Liesel) of Lakewood, Colorado, and grandchildren Max and Taia; siblings Dawn MacDonald, Holly Kirsch, Mary Gable, Denise (Ron) Behm. He is also survived by nine nieces, one nephew, five great-nieces and nephews and numerous cousins.

He was predeceased by father and mother, James J., Sr. and Florence “Beau” Hunter; brother-in-law George D. Kirsch and nephew Mark Kirsch.

Jay cherished his family and loved creating and working on projects with Trish and Jamie.

He especially loved spending time with his loving grandchildren. “Grampa Jay” would pour his heart into anything from cooking wonderful meals to fishing and making memories with the family.

Jay had a long career with Boeing/Spirit Aero Systems, retiring in 2008 as an NC Programming Lead.

On July 22, 1943, he was born in Buffalo, New York. Following four years of service in the US Navy, Jay received his BS in Math Education from Wichita State University and a masters in Health and Safety, then taught mathematics at Chatham Massachusetts High School, Corpus Christi Texas High School and Wichita Heights before starting his career at Boeing in NC Programming and Human Resources.

He was forever the creator/ restorer of homes, building a home on Cape Cod, restoring a building to the National Register in Chatham, Massachusetts, remodeling and adding onto the Wichita home, and building his most treasured cabin in Lutsen, Minnesota.

He changed dreams into realities both for his son and wife through creating, maintaining and fixing just about anything. He also enjoyed traveling, reading and living life to the fullest.

He will be sorely missed and forever loved by so many for his warm heart, great sense of humor, kind-hearted teasing, never-ending positive attitude, passion for helping others and strong work ethic.

memorial service

Celebration of Life to be announced

Celebration of Life will be held in the spring in Wichita and in the summer in Lutsen.

Funeral/Cremation Provider: Downing & Lahey Mortuary