Services for Ernestine Hunter to be Held Saturday, Sept. 23 in Aberdeen

Mrs. Ernestine G. Hunter passed away on Monday, Sept. 18. She was a pillar of the community, the center of her family, and an outstanding healthcare professional who gave of her time and abilities wherever and whenever they were needed. Without her presence, there would have been a palpable void in the lives of many.

Mrs. Hunter grew up in the segregated South in the 1920’s and ’30’s. She did not let circumstances of the times, often restrictive for African Americans, restrict her life. She aspired to follow her father, a chiropractor, into the medical field. After a brief stint as a teacher she did just that. She became a registered nurse, and spent a large part of her career tending to the needs of patients at Perrypoint VA Medical Center in Perrypoint, MD. She didn’t stop her healthcare service after retiring from Perrypoint. She continued to work part-time at private community healthcare facilities, and served as a volunteer with Meels on Wheels, until her own health concerns limited her mobility.

Mrs. Hunter also aspired to have a family. After being married several years, she and her husband, Sgt. (First Class) Caesar Hunter (Army) had three girls whom they raised to adulthood. Education was a major emphasis in their home. But Mrs. Hunter didn’t just talk about getting a good education, she set the example. She volunteered at her daughters' public-school library. She faithfully attended PTA meetings and was always present in the classroom for schoolwide parent-visitation days. She could always be depended on to volunteer as a parent chaperone for school field trips. She consistently attended and cheered them on at school choral and orchestral concerts, and other activities in which her children participated. Her efforts were focused on making sure they had the opportunity to excel. At home, she routinely helped with spelling, reading, math and other homework. She bought educational tools for the home, such as dictionaries and sets of encyclopedias, to help with term papers and other assignments. She encouraged extra-curricular activities that would enhance her daughters' talents and expand their intelligence. One of her children is hearing-impaired. Mrs. Hunter insisted that she be mainstreamed, having access to the same educational opportunities as everyone else, and not treated as “less than” in the educational system. Every Saturday morning, from the time her child's challenge was detected in grade school to the year she graduated high school, Mrs. Hunter would take her to speech and hearing therapy in Bel Air. She’d take her other daughters along as well, and they would make a family outing out of it – following up the speech therapy session with shopping trips, or lunch in a nearby park, or just enjoying the car-ride scenery. Mrs. Hunter made those sometimes-painstaking work sessions for one daughter into a fun weekly excursion for all. That hearing-impaired daughter, by the way, went on to graduate from the University of Maryland. Another daughter graduated from Howard University Law School. Another went the Ivy League route, earning two master’s degrees from Yale. Each was able to discover their talents, utilize their intelligence, establish their independence, and make their own contributions because they had their mom as an anchor.

Additionally, Mrs. Hunter aspired to serve the community and be a positive force in her environment. Whether it was a small neighborhood meeting, a large-scale voter registration drive, or an individual in need, Mrs. Hunter could always be counted on to lend a helping hand. Often, kids who grew up in the neighborhood – now grown adults, of course – recall how a kind word of advice, act of encouragement or gift of caring from Mrs. Hunter helped them overcome a huge obstacle.

Women like Mrs. Hunter – who made sacrifices without saying a word, who placed their children first, who were there for their families and communities regardless of the hardship they might incur, who make selfless choices that take others’ wellbeing into consideration – are cherished parts of any family and community. She was loved. And she will be greatly missed.

Born in Alabama on Jan. 14, 1922, she was the daughter of Charles S. Brown Sr. and Polly Robinson Brown. She began her distinguished career as a registered nurse after graduating from Tuskegee Institute (now Tuskegee University). In addition to her parents, Mrs. Hunter is predeceased by her husband Caesar Hunter, daughter Cheri Hunter, sister Mary Cosby and brother Charles S. Brown Jr. Along with daughters Jackie and Felicia, Mrs. Hunter leaves behind to cherish her memory sister Dorothy Edwards, cousin Moses Bandy, nieces Janice Cosby and Loretta Walker, nephew William Cosby, and a host of additional nieces, nephews, cousins, other family members, friends and colleagues.

Services will be held Saturday, Sept. 23, at Union United Methodist Church, 700 Old Post Road, Aberdeen, at 1 p.m. Viewing will take place that day beginning at 11 a.m. The repast will be held at the church immediately following the service. Burial will take place Wednesday, Sept. 27, at Mt. Gillard Missionary Baptist Church, Hayneville, Ala., following a service there. Arrangements are being handled by William C. Brown Funeral Home of Aberdeen, in conjunction with Miller’s Funeral Service of Selma, Ala.