Florence H. Hunt

After a long battle with breast cancer Florence Hunt died on Friday, May 29, 2020 at Maple Lake Assisted Living in Paw Paw. Florence was born in Kalamazoo on December 2, 1936, to the late Theodore F. and Helen K. (Godisak) Stanek of Decatur.
She resided at their farm in East Decatur graduating from Lawton High School in 1955 while studying voice with Gertrude Ewing, and then WMU with Dorothea Snyder. She was a child member of Lawton’s St. Paul’s United Methodist Church adult choir and later at St. Mary’s Catholic Church choir where she was also Director of Music during the 1970’s. Besides studying music at WMU, she attended Parson’s Business School. Many Fondly remember her God-given beautiful singing voice that she shared as a guest soloist at many area churches.
She worked eleven years for the City of Kalamazoo, City Engineers Office, both at City Hall and the newly constructed Kalamazoo Sewage Treatment Works where she wrote a book instructing plant operators on how to make chemical formulas to do sewage testing. She was a charter member of the Kalamazoo Municipal Employees Federal Credit Union where she served as Secretary on the Board of Directors, on the Supervisory Committee, and the Publicity/Marketing Committee and helped raise their million dollars of deposits.
In 1965 she married the late William “Ted” Thomas of Kalamazoo, and in 1967 had a lovely daughter Patricia Ann Bowman, who survives. In 1970 they moved to Paw Paw where she taught private piano, voice and dramatics until 1983 when she married John C. Hunt, P.S. She worked as his surveying assistant and managed his business: Southwest Survey & Eng. Co. for twenty successful years until her retirement. An article she wrote about her husbands’ dedication to surveying was published. She enjoyed going to the SW Chapter meetings and conferences of the Michigan Society of Professional Surveyors and was an active participant.
She baked blue ribbon worthy cakes, pies, and cookies for bake sales and funeral luncheons and for various other organizations. She served eleven years with the Van Buren County Courthouse Restoration Committee assisting in raising funds and awareness of the historical building.
Besides having fun volunteering, she planted a large vegetable garden that produced an abundance of food. She loved to cook and enjoyed her large collection of cook books. Another hobby was flower gardening but after she could no longer physically participate in planting them in her garden, she put them in pots that beautified the landscape of her home in Paw Paw. She also loved painting and photography and enjoyed membership in the Southwest Michigan Artists Association, acting with the Paw Paw Village Players, and attending Kalamazoo Civic Theater productions. In addition, she enjoyed local casinos since being diagnosed with stage four cancer in 2012. She enjoyed vintage cars as John owned several. Her favorite was the 1941 Studebaker. She was a member of the Rod Nockers Car Club with John.
Besides her husband John and her daughter Patricia of Paw Paw, she leaves her grandson Brandon Bowman of Parchment, step-son Jeff (Elaine) Hunt, & step-granddaughter Katrina (Justin) Browne of Florence, KY, and step-son Steve Hunt of Kalamazoo, sisters, Vivian Polomcak,  and Charlotte (Elvin) Adams of Mattawan, loving nieces and nephews: Victoria (Michael) Firnstahl, Theodore (Claudia) Polomcak, Laura (Marco) Wilson-Stanek, Tina (Robert) Brand, Toni (Greg) Fountain, Pamela (Todd) Sikkema, Mark (Lorie) Adams, and many great nieces and great nephews, cousins, special friend, Stella Stanek and her cousin, Daniel “Dan” (Joann) Wydick, along with many extended family members and friends. Her brother James Stanek passed away in January 2015. Besides her wonderful family, she will be missed by the many members of the Michigan Society of Professional Surveyors and their wives that she had grown to know and love over the years.
There will be a memorial mass celebrated on Friday, July 17, 2020 at 12:00 p.m. at Saint Mary Catholic Church, Paw Paw, with Fr. Joseph Xavier and Rev. Fr. Robert F. Creagan officiating. Guest may begin arriving at 11:00 a.m. and will need to wear a mask and practice social distancing. If restrictions are lifted, there will be doughnuts shared and a luncheon to follow after the mass. Florence will be placed to rest at Saint Mary Cemetery. Donations may be made to Flo’s favorite charities: St. Mary Catholic Church Flower Fund, the Kalamazoo Civic Theatre, the Southwest Michigan Artists Association or WGVU Public Television.