Elva Jean (White) Hunter

HAMILTON - Elva Jean (White) Hunter, beloved wife, mother, grandmother and great-grandmother, passed away peacefully surrounded by her daughters on June 21, 2014 at the Marcus Daly Hospice Center.

Jean was born at home in Farmington, New Mexico on November 30, 1931 to Russell Sage White and Elva Opal Warner White. She spent the first 10 years of her life living mostly on the Navajo Indian Reservation where her dad worked for the Continental Oil Company. She attended grade schools in Farmington, Shiprock and Rattlesnake, New Mexico.

In 1941 her family moved to Inchelium, WA where the family lived at Barnaby Creek on the Colville Indian Reservation to be near her maternal grandparents who were homesteaders. In 1949, Jean graduated as salutatorian from Inchelium High School. She then moved to Colville, WA and worked at Fonk's Five and Dime, then for the U.S. Forest Service where she met her future husband. In 1955, she married Ray D. Hunter in Spokane, WA and began their married life in Republic, WA. They moved with Ray's job to Raven Ranger District, MT, St. Maries, ID, and finally settling in Hamilton in 1967.

Jean was a sweet spirit with a cheerful outlook who cared deeply for her family and friends. She loved to read, especially Native American detective novels, wilderness adventures and Forest Service history. She did needlework, proudly making cross stitch pillowcases for her grandchildren. She loved all things from New Mexico including turquoise jewelry, Navajo blankets and baskets, and paintings of the desert landscape.

She enjoyed spending time with her daughters visiting thrift stores and garage sales.

Jean is survived by her three daughters, Patricia McAlpin (Robin), Myrtle Point, OR, Kate Hunter, Gonzales, TX and Dana Hunter, Missoula; sisters Dorothy Lee Learned and Barbara Rueckert of Longview, WA; 9 grandchildren, 3 great-grandchildren and numerous nieces and nephews.

Jean was preceded in death by her son, Lt. John R. Hunter in 1989 and her husband of 57 years, Ray D. Hunter, who passed in 2012.

Memorial contributions can be made to the First Presbyterian Church in Hamilton.