Byron Alexander Hunter passed away peacefully on January 10, 2001, at Providence Assisted Living. He was 90 years old.
Byron was born on Oct. 15, 1910, in Salt Lake City, Utah to Daniel and Mary Weir Calderwood Hunter. He was the sixth of seven children. He graduated from LDS High and went on to the University of Utah where he received a BS in 1933 and a MA in 1937, both in chemistry. He traveled to Iowa State and received his Ph.D. in organic chemistry in 1941. Dr. Hunter worked as a research chemist for the United States Rubber Co. (Uniroyal) from 1941 to 1975 in Naugatuck, Connecticut. After retiring, he worked at Brigham Young University as an adjunct professor from 1977-1995. He received a total of 67 patents throughout his lifetime from 1947-1993. He received the University of Utah Distinguished Alumni Award in 1978, The Midgely Award from the American Chemical Society in 1990, The Outstanding Achievement Award from the Society of Plastic Engineers in 1990, the Outstanding Technical Achievement Award from Uniroyal in 1990, and The Byron A. Hunter Award for enthusiasm was established at Uniroyal in 1986.
He met his future wife, Margaret Clark Oleson, (Peggy), at the University of Utah during his Master's Degree, while she was also studying chemistry. They married on September 4, 1942, in Naugatuck, Connecticut, after they had both received Ph.D's in chemistry. The were sealed in the Logan, Utah, LDS Temple on June 30, 1943. They are the parents of eight children, Shirley, Jim, Bob, Margaret, Wendy, Sharman, Heather, and Debbie.
Brother Hunter was an active member of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. He was Branch President of the New Haven Branch in Connecticut for 17 years, from 1942- 1959. After 34 years in Connecticut, Byron and Peg moved to Alpine, Utah in 1977.
Byron is survived by one sister, Helen Alldredge of Salt Lake City, Utah; five children, Shirley Peck of Simi Valley, California; Bob Hunter of Beacon Falls, Connecticut; Margaret Fox, of Palo Alto, California; Sharman Wilson of Louisville, Colorado; and Debbie Ramsey of Providence, Utah; 27 grandchildren, and three great-grandchildren. He was preceded in death by his wife Peggy, and three children: Jim, Wendy, and Heather.
A few years ago, Byron said this to sum up his life, "There's chemistry, there's the church, and there's my family."
Funeral services will be held at the Alpine 8th Ward, 165 East 100 North, Alpine, Utah, on Saturday, January 13, 2001, at 11 a.m. A viewing will be held at 9:30 that morning. Burial will be in the Alpine City Cemetery.