Sandra Griffin Hunt, 79, of Tifton passed away Wednesday, March 25, 2015, at Tift Regional Medical Center after an extended illness. Her funeral service will be held at 11:00 a.m. on Saturday, March 28, 2015, at Tifton’s First United Methodist Church with Rev. Benjy Varnell officiating. Ron Evans will give a eulogy. Mrs. Hunt will be laid to rest at Rose Hill Cemetery in Ashburn. The family will receive friends from 9:30 to 11:00 a.m. on Saturday, March 28, 2015, at Tifton's First United Methodist Church.
Mrs. Hunt’s grandsons, Mitchell Wilcox Hunt III, Mark Griffin Hunt, Taylor Jeffrey Hunt and Charles Seaborn Hunt, and her nephews, G. M. Dallas Hunt IV, James Rice Brown, and Jack Griffin Ansley will serve as pallbearers. Honorary pallbearers will be members of the Beacon Sunday school class and the Circle Class, which Sandra taught, of Tifton’s First United Methodist Church.
Mrs. Hunt was born in Douglas on June 18, 1935. She was the last surviving child of Jack Wendell Griffin and Lucius Bedell Griffin. She was reared in Douglas and Sycamore, before moving to Ashburn in 1941. It’s there she met her lifelong love, Mitch Hunt. She graduated from Ashburn High School and attended Duke University, where she enjoyed being a member of Delta, Delta, Delta, Sorority. She also received an AA from ABAC. She married Mitch in 1955 and they lived in both Columbus and Ashburn, before moving to Tifton in 1963.
Mrs. Hunt was active in countless ways in the United Methodist church from her childhood into her Methodist Youth days, including being President of the South Georgia MYF. She continued to be active in her church throughout her entire adult life. Her faith in God and her church home were always priorities in her life.
When her children were young, she was primarily a homemaker and also enjoyed doing some free-lance writing during those years. After attending a NASCAR race with her husband in the early 1960s, she started writing human interest stories that were readily picked up by racing magazines through the 1960s and 1970s. Her articles were both humorous and serious; focusing on the people in racing, as well as what makes a race track run. She won several awards for her human interest pieces, and she had a marvelous time building relationships with the families of the drivers. Once she wrote an article for a contest hosted by Reader’s Digest magazine, winning a memorable day aboard the Goodyear Blimp for herself and Mitch. She also wrote a novel, “The Firestones”, set in the North Georgia Mountains that she loved all her life. Her children published the book for her after she became ill, so she could see the results of her efforts in book form. It’s still available on Amazon.
As her children grew older, she became a teacher and librarian at Tiftarea Academy. Her final and longest work chapter was serving as the Media Specialist at Abraham Baldwin Agricultural College before retiring in 1998.
In addition to faith, Bible study and writing, Mrs. Hunt was passionate about sports, especially Duke Basketball, Georgia football, Braves baseball and anything her children or grandchildren were involved in. She also enjoyed hiking, skiing, travel and photography. She found particular delight in capturing the nature in her own back yard.
When her seven grandchildren were kids, she prepared for many months each year for the annual “Sam’s Camp”, hosted either in Tifton or at a travel destination. It was an intentional time to bring all her grandchildren together to bond with their grandparents, as well as with one another. Everyone has such fond memories of Sam’s Camp, even the parents who were relieved of parenting duties for several days each summer.
Sandra led an active and abundant life, guided by her faith; a living example of grace and love to all who knew her.
She was preceded in death by her parents and her sister, Jan Griffin Carter.
Survivors include her husband of nearly 60 years, Mitchell Wilcox Hunt, Sr. of Tifton; her son, Mitchell Wilcox Hunt, Jr. and his wife, Toni of Atlantic Beach, Florida; her son, Jeffrey Griffin Hunt and his wife, Tina of Kernersville, North Carolina; her daughter, Michelle Hunt of Duluth; seven grandchildren, Heather Leigh Hunt, Mitchell Wilcox Hunt III, Christine Hunt Frackelton, Mark Griffin Hunt, Taylor Jeffrey Hunt, Kelli Marie Hunt and Charles Seaborn Hunt; three great-grandchildren, Jordan Alyse Williams, Samuel Wesley Frackelton and Louisa Carter Frackelton; and a host of very dear extended family members and friends, whom she would consider family.
Flowers will be accepted or memorial gifts may be made to the First United Methodist Church, 107 West 12th Street, Tifton, GA 31794; or the Frist United Methodist Church, 406 North Main Street, Ashburn, GA 31714.