Bob Hunter, 72, died at his home at 156 Burnham Drive, Alliance on August 6, 2018.
He had been in poor health for some time before his death.
Bob was the first of six children born to Richard and Dorothy (Breckner) Hunter, and
was born on September 1, 1945 at Camp Pendleton, California. At the time, his father,
was serving in the Marines (World War II), and his mother had moved to California
while waiting for his father to be discharged. When they returned to Nebraska, Bob
became part of the fourth generation of the Hunter family to live on the ranch home-
steaded by his great-grandfather. The ranch was located on the Niobrara River north
of Hemingford, and after the war, the Box Butte Dam was built in the center of their land.
Bob and his brothers and sisters attended a one room school near their home. Occasionally
they would ride back and forth to school on horseback. He worked on the ranch beside his
father and brother and he would tell about working cattle on the south side of the lake,
then tying the horses up and taking a dip in the water to cool off on hot summer days.
Like many ranch kids, he was a member of 4-H and looked forward each year to the county
fair. In 1963 he won the Outstanding 4-H Club Member Award and the newspaper headline
read “Bob Hunter is Box Butte Top 4-H’er”. Along with his brother, Gary, he was a member
of a horse-riding club.
Bob attended high school at St. Agnes Academy in Alliance. As a freshman, he stayed with
his grandparents, John and Kathryn (Friemuth) Odell during the week and returned to the
ranch on weekends. The next year he got a school permit and after that, he drove himself
the 35 miles back and forth to school each day. After graduating from St. Agnes, he went
to work for the railroad. For a time, Bob was the youngest employee and his grandfather,
Dinky Odell, was the oldest. He started on a traveling crew that repaired tracks and spent
a lot of time in the sand hills living in a railroad car. The crew formed a softball team, and
they spent summer evenings playing ball with town teams from Hyannis, Mullen and
Thedford. He later worked as a brakeman, and often worked the passenger trains from
Alliance to Lincoln. Since he was low in seniority, he only worked part of the year, so when
he got laid off in December, he attended Chadron State College where he studied Business
Administration. This pattern would continue for about eight years – working during the
warm seasons and putting himself through college during the winter. While he was on
campus, he was active in the Newman Club, was a member of Sigma Tau Gamma Fraternity,
and went out for wrestling.
While a student in Chadron, he met Joyce Rice and they were married on September 18, 1967
at St. Patrick’s Catholic Church in Chadron. They first moved to Deadwood, SD as Bob was
working on the railroad in the Black Hills – both on the 1880 Train in Hill City, and on a
portion of the railroad that serviced a mine near Deadwood. After that, they moved back
and forth from Alliance to Chadron until they finished college and settled in Alliance.
In 1972, Bob left the railroad and became a salesman for Nebraska Farmer Insurance.
He traveled across Nebraska during the week selling insurance to farmers and ranchers.
After about a year, he accepted a position with MFA (Missouri Farmers Assn.) Insurance and
opened his own insurance agency at third and Box Butte in the old Alliance National Bank
building. Later he purchased a property that previously had housed Rex’s Hamburgers.
He remodeled the little building himself and moved the Shelter Insurance (previously MFA)
business to that location. He earned many sales awards for the company and was rewarded
with company trips to Hawaii, San Diego, Switzerland, Paradise Island, and St. Marten.
Bob loved outdoor activities like hunting, fishing, cutting firewood, and taking part in
brandings, and he loved to travel taking long road trips with his pop-up camper. He had been
a member of the Jaycees (Junior Chamber of Commerce) and was a devout member of Holy
Rosary Church. Over the years he had been active with the Cursillo Movement and was a
member of Full Gospel Business Men’s Fellowship. In later years, he volunteered for RSVP
and for the lunch program at St. Agnes. Bob was always a people person – he knew no
strangers and loved to visit for hours over a cup of coffee.
Bob is survived by his son Scott Hunter, and grand-daughter Tatum Hunter both of
Centennial, CO; and by his five siblings, Gary (Sandy) Hunter, Hemingford; Susan (Steve)
Reams, Centennial, CO; David Hunter, Hemingford; Don (Sherry) Hunter, Hemingford;
and Ann (Art) Smith, Phoenix, AZ.
Funeral services will be held at Holy Rosary Church in Alliance on Friday August 17, 2018.
A Rosary will precede the funeral at 10:00 a.m. with the Mass beginning at 10:30 am with
Fr. Tim Stoner officiating. Inurnment will be in the Hemingford Cemetery at 1:30 pm.
Memorials may be given to Holy Rosary Catholic Church.
Online condolences may be left at www.batesgould.com with Bates-Gould Funeral Home
in charge of arrangements.