Dr. Marilyn R. Hunter, 85, passed from this life into life eternal on October 21, 2022, in Carmel, Indiana. Born September 28, 1937, in Watertown, South Dakota, to Rev. John and Amy Jackson Hunter, Marilyn grew up in Buffalo, Wyoming; Conner, Montana; Billings, Montana; Sturgis and Rapid City, South Dakota.
Graduating from Billings High School (1955), she attended Marion College in Indiana for one year, then Houghton College in New York, with a pre-med major, graduating in 1959. She completed her M.D. degree at Temple University in Philadelphia in 1963 and moved to Grand Rapids, Michigan, where she completed a residency in Pediatrics at Butterworth Hospital.
Dr. Hunter practiced pediatrics in Lowell, Michigan, for four years, then accepted a call to serve the Wesleyan Mission Hospital in La Gonave, Haiti. She served there the next 25 years, directing the only permanent medical facility on an island with a population of more than 90,000 residents living at a subsistence level of poverty. During her time there, Dr. Hunter helped to train scores of health care nursing aides and established many satellite clinics for “well-baby-care”.
When she returned from Haiti, Dr. Hunter continued to practice pediatrics, first in Niles, Michigan, then in Marion, Indiana, retiring in 2012. She also volunteered at a clinic for indigent men in Marion and was active in Brookhaven Wesleyan Church. She is remembered by many friends as a joyful and generous follower of Christ, as well as a willing volunteer. Even in the final months of her decline, her caregivers at Bridgewater Health Care in Carmel, Indiana, commented about how she would smile and laugh with them, even though she was unable to communicate verbally.
Dr. Hunter is preceded in death by three brothers, Ronald George Hunter, who died at age 4 (1943); Daniel Paul Hunter (2012); and David Harlan Hunter (2018) (Joan Jordan Hunter).
She is survived by two brothers, Robert L. Hunter (Glenda), Indianapolis, IN, and Charles W. Hunter (Jill) of Gillette, Wyoming; nephews, Brock, Ryan, Brett, Andrew, and Lance Hunter; nieces, Lynna and Lonna; and grand-nieces, Alexandra (Lexie) Stewart, Juliette (Jibs) Stewart; Mena and Maeve Hunter.
A memorial service will be held for Dr. Hunter at 11:00 a.m. on Friday, October 28, 2022, at Needham-Storey-Wampner Funeral Service, North Chapel, 1341 N. Baldwin Ave., Marion, Indiana.
Memorial gifts may be made to Global Partners, 13300 Olio Rd., Fishers, IN 46037.
Memories may be shared online at www.nswcares.com. To send flowers to the family of Dr. Marilyn, please visit our floral store.