Relva Hunt, 85

Relva Mae Hunt, 85, of Mountain Home, died Oct. 30, 2003, at the Elmore Medical Center Long-term Care Unit.

A memorial service was held Sunday, Nov. 2, at Summers Funeral Homes, McMurtrey Chapel, in Mountain Home.

Relva was born Nov. 26, 1917, in Midway, Utah, the second of Lynn and Ruby Bronson's five daughters. The family moved to Vale, Ore., when Relva was a teenager. Relva became a star on the Vale High School track team. She graduated with the Class of 1936 and maintained contact with many of her classmates throughout her life.

Relva married Harvey Hunt in 1938. They had been married nearly 56 years when Harvey died in 1994. Together, they raised four sons, Clark, Ben, Brent and Jimmy.

"It was a close-knit family that remains close to this day," her family said, adding that, "Relva was a loving wife and mother who worked hard throughout her life. She had the ability to cheerfully make ends meet when times were difficult during the early years, and she did so without letting the children know.

"Relva maintained a neat and tidy home in spite of her four rowdy boys," her family said, "and grew beautiful flowers wherever she lived. She was a generous person who always wanted to share whatever she had.... By example, Relva taught her sons to live by the Golden Rule and to be honest and caring. Her sons always strived to earn her praise and to make her proud of their accomplishments. She was their closest friend as well as their mother."

When Harvey became disabled in 1958, Relva began working outside the home as a medical assistant, while caring for her family. She continued working in various jobs until she moved to Mountain Home in 1977.

Her son, Jimmy, moved back home in the early 1980s when he was no longer able to work due to his illness. Relva cared for him until his death in 1993.

Relva was an active member of the Order of Eastern Star when she lived in California, serving in the position of Esther in the Belmont Shore, Calif., Chapter.

Relva was chosen as Mother of the Year in 1999 by the Elmore Medical Center's Long Term Care Unit, where she had resided since 1996.

She is survived by: her sister and brother-in-law, Letty and Gene Davis of Bruneau; and three of her sons and their wives, Clark and Karen Hunt of Spokane, Wash., Ben and Marsha Hunt of Yucca Valley, Calif., and Brent and Karen Hunt of Grand View; nine surviving grandchildren and eight great-grandchildren.