Hunter dedicated her life to people
In 1986 Hunter was elected as one of the 84 ‘Women of our time’ as recognition for her services to her community
JOAN Hunter (86), a former mayor of Kempton Park, has died at 10pm on Monday last week at Arwyp after a short illness.
She was transferred to Arwyp from the New Life Centre in Johannesburg the same day, where she had been since December 28 after breaking her hip after a fall.
Her son, James, said he and his family, as well as his brother Pierre and his family from Lisse in the Netherlands, had their last family get-together on December 19.
Hunter and her late husband, Bill, moved to Kempton Park in 1953 and settled in what is today known as Terenure. They spent their last years at Immergroen next to Allen Park.
In a family history document of the Hunters, which Bill finished in December 2003, he wrote his dad came from Scotland in 1895 and he was born in South Africa.
After school he studied civil engineering at Wits, which was interrupted by World War 2, in which he fought. He finished his studies after returning from the war.
He was already a civil engineer when he met Joan, née De Villiers. She was born in Potchefstroom,but grew up, matriculated and studied in Pretoria.
In the family history Bill wrote: “On one occasion Joan and her mother, who were visiting an aunt in Bloemfontein, came on site to see me. They caught me fixing the steel shuttering and so covered in grease and oil from the shutters that Joan had to walk around a few times before she could recognise me.
“The old lady was not impressed and I’m sure had doubts as to Joan’s choice of a future husband! A condition that Joan imposed on me before we could be engaged was that I first had to write her a letter in Afrikaans, which I had not learnt at school having done French.”
He then attended evening classes in Bloemfontein, where he lived at that stage, to be able to write the letter. They got married on April 1, 1950 and lived in Bloemfontein and a while in Johannesburg before moving to their five-acre plot in Kempton Park.
Bill died in 2008 and their son, André and daughter-in-law Rika, both politicians too, in 2009.
With a park and a street named after her, Hunter did a lot for Kempton Park.
After school she graduated in BSc home economics at Pretoria University and later obtained a diploma in business management.
While raising her three sons she continued her work with the Department of Agriculture as home extension officer, travelling around the country giving demonstrations and courses to women’s groups.
Her political career started in 1972 as town councillor of Kempton Park, where she served for 15 years and was mayor in 1975/76.
From 1981-1986 Hunter served as Transvaal Provincial Councillor for Modderfontein, of which she was the first female. She was also member of Parliament for Edenvale from 1987 to 1989.
In 1986 Hunter was elected as one of the 84 “Women of our time” as recognition for her services to her community.
As National Party appointee, she served as member and rotational chairman on the Gender Advisory Committee of CODESSA in 1992.
She was also founder member of Kempton Park Child Welfare Society and Kempton Park Opleidingsentrum vir Opleibare Gestremdes and honorary member of Kempton Park Commando Council, Transvaal Woman’s Agricultural union, Kempton Park Dameskring, Kempton Park Business and Professional Woman’s Club, Kempton Park Afrikaans Business Chamber, Edenvale Afrikaans Business Chamber, Institute for Solid Waste Management and National Association for Clean Air.
Hunter leaves behind her two sons, James and Pierre, their wives and seven grandchildren.
Her memorial service was on Tuesday at the NG Church Kempton-Kruin in Fiskaal Street.
