October 30, 1944 – March 25, 2025
Jan was born in San Antonio, Texas, where her father was stationed during WWII. She was the second of three children of Ron and Eleanor Green of Bothell, Washington. At the end of the war the Green family was anxious to return to Bothell. From a very early age Jan learned many of the same values that her parents espoused–honesty, generosity, empathy, an appreciation for diversity, traditional family values, and the importance of education. She graduated from Bothell High School and then was accepted at Whitman College. It was there that she met Dick Hunter. He was a senior; she was a sophomore. After he graduated, Dick moved to New York to get his degree in Aerospace Science and Engineering at Columbia University. They married in 1966. While Dick worked for NASA on the Saturn V rocket, Jan earned her degree from the University of Maryland. She then got a job teaching at an elementary school. It was the beginning of a life committed to helping others. They moved to San Diego County in 1983 so that Dick could work with his father at Hunter Industries. After Dick’s retirement in 2011 they wanted to return to the greater Seattle area, which they always considered home. Like her parents, Jan seemed to have an unlimited capacity for friends, travel, and diversity. The friends and family that she adopted came from many different races, cultures, and backgrounds. She was a lifelong friend and mentor to many foreign exchange students that she and Dick hosted through both AFS and Rotary International. Students came from Turkey, Japan, Iceland, and Thailand for a full year, and from Norway, Australia, New Zealand, Slovakia, Brazil, and Denmark for three months. They stayed in the Hunter home and many went to private schools in San Diego. To Jan, foreign exchange students were never just a short-term commitment–she signed on for a lifetime of love and oversight. She was truly a force for causes that she believed in–particularly in mental illness, pet adoption, and education. She served on the boards of the National Alliance on Mental Illness-Washington chapter; Midway University in Midway, Kentucky; Riverview School in Sandwich, Massachusetts; the University of Washington at Bothell; and The Jackie Robinson Family YMCA. Because of her dedication, strategic and leadership skills, she became chair of the board of all of those organizations. Her parents taught her the importance of education, and that’s why Jan helped support so many others with their education.
Her children have all followed their dreams–Jill is now the founder and owner of Cherokee Show Horses in Rancho Santa Fe, California. Greg is CEO of Hunter Industries, succeeding his father in that role. Scott is a board-certified psychiatrist in Los Angeles County’s juvenile detention system, specializing in child, adolescent, and addiction psychiatry. She was never attracted to the non-profits that are prestigious, name-dropping opportunities. She championed a cosmetology school in Cambodia for young adults who had been sex-trafficked. She and Dick paid for rehabilitation programs for a friend whose son suffered from mental illness and substance abuse. Together they contributed to the renovation and expansion of the Jackie Robinson YMCA in San Diego. She always gave to people and organizations with no expectation that any could or would reciprocate the gift. To her, friendship was a lifelong commitment. Her friends and her large network of associates were all “family.” That’s why, at her 80th birthday party, a six- piece band played Sister Sledge’s “We are Family.” All of the 100+ party-goers joined hands, encircled and danced around Jan, in love and admiration. Her friends were indeed her family.
In April 2023 she was diagnosed with triple negative breast cancer. Her family and friends were truly the best medicine. She never stopped getting energy from the people around her. She never stopped being Jan. Jan passed away in Santa Monica, California, on March 4, 2025 at the age of 80. She was predeceased by her parents and her daughter, Karen. She is survived by Dick, her husband of 58 years; their daughter Jill Hunter Hensley and her husband Darryl; their son Greg Hunter and his wife, Wendy; and their son Scott Hunter and his wife, Ashley. Her grandchildren include Cassie, Miles and Alex Hensley; Meredith and Eddie Hunter; Sebastian, Hennessy, and Juliet Hunter; and her foster granddaughter, Jolie Klein and her husband Jesse. JJ and Journi Klein are Jan’s great grandchildren. Wendy and Chris Evans have been at Jan’s side for the last 17 years; they are a very important and much loved part of the Hunter family- -even if only by dotted line. Jan leaves behind a legacy of love and generosity. She was a friend to hundreds of people, mentor to dozens and an inspiration to all who knew her.
Friends and family are invited to a celebration of life service Saturday, April 26, from 2 p.m. – 6 p.m. at Mobius Hall on the campus of Cascadia College/University of Washington at Bothell, Washington. In lieu of flowers the family requests memorial gifts for: Bothell High School Alumni Association http://www.bothellhighalumniassociation. com/giving National Alliance on Mental Illness https://doityourway.nami.org/index.cfm?fuseaction=donorDrive. personalCampaign&participantID=603849
