Mark Hunt obituary: Mark Hunt's Obituary, Topeka
In Memory Of
Mark A. Hunt
1949 - 2017
In Memory Of
Mark A. Hunt
1949 - 2017
Historian and bibliophile, adventurer and Boy Scout, terrific cook and terrible joke teller, Topeka native Mark Alan Hunt, 67, died early Thursday morning.
Mark had a love of history from an early age, begging his older relatives to regale him with tales from their childhood. He would go on to channel his love of the past into a successful career as a museum administrator. He graduated from Topeka West High School in 1966, Washburn University with a political science degree in 1971, and the SUNY – Oneonta Cooperstown Graduate Program for museum studies in 1982. Mark brought history to life with exhibits, events and speakers at museums across the country, including the National Boy Scout Museum, the Ronald Reagan Presidential Library and Museum, and the Franklin D. Roosevelt Presidential Library and Museum. He always said his proudest professional accomplishment was overseeing the construction and development of the permanent exhibits at the Kansas Museum of History. It was his love letter to his home state.
But Mark would say the role he most revered was that of family man. He met his wife, Cyndy, at a history conference in Florida. There were instant sparks, in part because their waiter set the dinner rolls on fire on their first date. Ten days after meeting, Mark proposed. Cyndy sensibly turned him down but within the year, the couple was married. Tuesday would have been their 41st wedding anniversary.
Mark raised his two children, Alexander and Alice Claire, to question everything, research what they didn’t know, and to treat everyone they came across with dignity and fairness. His children grew up with a dictionary at the dinner table and more hugs than they could ever count. While they would never beat him at Trivial Pursuit, cards or Scrabble, they did learn the value of hard work, manual labor, and seeking answers.
Mark was a proud lifelong Boy Scout. Dreaming of adventure, he joined the Boy Scouts as a child and made friends he kept his entire life. He earned his Eagle Award at the age of 13, and went on to join the Sea Scouts, racing sailboats and camping in the cold. When his son, Alex, was old enough, Mark became his troop leader, pushing and pulling an entire generation of boys through to responsible adulthood.
In many ways, Mark was a man from another era. He disliked computers, calling them a “fad,” (until he discovered Wikipedia and Netflix, that is). He spoke with the eloquence and vocabulary of a 19th-century Oxford professor. He preferred classical and big band music to the rock-and-roll of his youth. But he was also ahead of his time, making sure his son AND his daughter knew how to use tools equally, and allowing the women in his office to bring babies to work long before it was fashionable. Mark was a deeply moral man, a good man. His absence is a crater in the lives of those who love and respect him.
Mark is survived by his wife, Cyndy; his son, Alexander Rush of San Anselmo, Calif.; his daughter, Alice Claire of Topeka; his sister, Diane (Dale) Schafer; and many cousins, nieces and nephews. He is predeceased by his father and mother, I.B. Hunt, Jr. and Marjorie May McConnell Hunt.
The visitation will be held from 6-7:30 p.m. Tuesday, Feb. 21, at Penwell-Gable Midtown Chapel, 1321 SW 10th Ave. The funeral service will be held at 10 a.m. Wednesday, Feb. 22, at Lowman United Methodist Church, 4000 SW Drury Ln., followed by a graveside service at Mount Hope Cemetery, 17th and Fairlawn Road.
In lieu of flowers, the family requests donations be made to: Jayhawk Area Council, BSA; 1020 SE Monroe; Topeka, KS 66612.
To leave a special message for the family, please click the Share Memories button above.
Mark had a love of history from an early age, begging his older relatives to regale him with tales from their childhood. He would go on to channel his love of the past into a successful career as a museum administrator. He graduated from Topeka West High School in 1966, Washburn University with a political science degree in 1971, and the SUNY – Oneonta Cooperstown Graduate Program for museum studies in 1982. Mark brought history to life with exhibits, events and speakers at museums across the country, including the National Boy Scout Museum, the Ronald Reagan Presidential Library and Museum, and the Franklin D. Roosevelt Presidential Library and Museum. He always said his proudest professional accomplishment was overseeing the construction and development of the permanent exhibits at the Kansas Museum of History. It was his love letter to his home state.
But Mark would say the role he most revered was that of family man. He met his wife, Cyndy, at a history conference in Florida. There were instant sparks, in part because their waiter set the dinner rolls on fire on their first date. Ten days after meeting, Mark proposed. Cyndy sensibly turned him down but within the year, the couple was married. Tuesday would have been their 41st wedding anniversary.
Mark raised his two children, Alexander and Alice Claire, to question everything, research what they didn’t know, and to treat everyone they came across with dignity and fairness. His children grew up with a dictionary at the dinner table and more hugs than they could ever count. While they would never beat him at Trivial Pursuit, cards or Scrabble, they did learn the value of hard work, manual labor, and seeking answers.
Mark was a proud lifelong Boy Scout. Dreaming of adventure, he joined the Boy Scouts as a child and made friends he kept his entire life. He earned his Eagle Award at the age of 13, and went on to join the Sea Scouts, racing sailboats and camping in the cold. When his son, Alex, was old enough, Mark became his troop leader, pushing and pulling an entire generation of boys through to responsible adulthood.
In many ways, Mark was a man from another era. He disliked computers, calling them a “fad,” (until he discovered Wikipedia and Netflix, that is). He spoke with the eloquence and vocabulary of a 19th-century Oxford professor. He preferred classical and big band music to the rock-and-roll of his youth. But he was also ahead of his time, making sure his son AND his daughter knew how to use tools equally, and allowing the women in his office to bring babies to work long before it was fashionable. Mark was a deeply moral man, a good man. His absence is a crater in the lives of those who love and respect him.
Mark is survived by his wife, Cyndy; his son, Alexander Rush of San Anselmo, Calif.; his daughter, Alice Claire of Topeka; his sister, Diane (Dale) Schafer; and many cousins, nieces and nephews. He is predeceased by his father and mother, I.B. Hunt, Jr. and Marjorie May McConnell Hunt.
The visitation will be held from 6-7:30 p.m. Tuesday, Feb. 21, at Penwell-Gable Midtown Chapel, 1321 SW 10th Ave. The funeral service will be held at 10 a.m. Wednesday, Feb. 22, at Lowman United Methodist Church, 4000 SW Drury Ln., followed by a graveside service at Mount Hope Cemetery, 17th and Fairlawn Road.
In lieu of flowers, the family requests donations be made to: Jayhawk Area Council, BSA; 1020 SE Monroe; Topeka, KS 66612.
To leave a special message for the family, please click the Share Memories button above.
Historian and bibliophile, adventurer and Boy Scout, terrific cook and terrible joke teller, Topeka native Mark Alan Hunt, 67, died early Thursday morning.
Mark had a love of history from an early age, begging his older relatives to regale him with tales from their childhood. He would go on to channel his love of the past into a successful career as a museum administrator. He graduated from Topeka West High School in 1966, Washburn University with a political science degree in 1971, and the SUNY – Oneonta Cooperstown Graduate Program for museum studies in 1982. Mark brought history to life with exhibits, events and speakers at museums across the country, including the National Boy Scout Museum, the Ronald Reagan Presidential Library and Museum, and the Franklin D. Roosevelt Presidential Library and Museum. He always said his proudest professional accomplishment was overseeing the construction and development of the permanent exhibits at the Kansas Museum of History. It was his love letter to his home state.
But Mark would say the role he most revered was that of family man. He met his wife, Cyndy, at a history conference in Florida. There were instant sparks, in part because their waiter set the dinner rolls on fire on their first date. Ten days after meeting, Mark proposed. Cyndy sensibly turned him down but within the year, the couple was married. Tuesday would have been their 41st wedding anniversary.
Mark raised his two children, Alexander and Alice Claire, to question everything, research what they didn’t know, and to treat everyone they came across with dignity and fairness. His children grew up with a dictionary at the dinner table and more hugs than they could ever count. While they would never beat him at Trivial Pursuit, cards or Scrabble, they did learn the value of hard work, manual labor, and seeking answers.
Mark was a proud lifelong Boy Scout. Dreaming of adventure, he joined the Boy Scouts as a child and made friends he kept his entire life. He earned his Eagle Award at the age of 13, and went on to join the Sea Scouts, racing sailboats and camping in the cold. When his son, Alex, was old enough, Mark became his troop leader, pushing and pulling an entire generation of boys through to responsible adulthood.
In many ways, Mark was a man from another era. He disliked computers, calling them a “fad,” (until he discovered Wikipedia and Netflix, that is). He spoke with the eloquence and vocabulary of a 19th-century Oxford professor. He preferred classical and big band music to the rock-and-roll of his youth. But he was also ahead of his time, making sure his son AND his daughter knew how to use tools equally, and allowing the women in his office to bring babies to work long before it was fashionable. Mark was a deeply moral man, a good man. His absence is a crater in the lives of those who love and respect him.
Mark is survived by his wife, Cyndy; his son, Alexander Rush of San Anselmo, Calif.; his daughter, Alice Claire of Topeka; his sister, Diane (Dale) Schafer; and many cousins, nieces and nephews. He is predeceased by his father and mother, I.B. Hunt, Jr. and Marjorie May McConnell Hunt.
The visitation will be held from 6-7:30 p.m. Tuesday, Feb. 21, at Penwell-Gable Midtown Chapel, 1321 SW 10th Ave. The funeral service will be held at 10 a.m. Wednesday, Feb. 22, at Lowman United Methodist Church, 4000 SW Drury Ln., followed by a graveside service at Mount Hope Cemetery, 17th and Fairlawn Road.
In lieu of flowers, the family requests donations be made to: Jayhawk Area Council, BSA; 1020 SE Monroe; Topeka, KS 66612.
To leave a special message for the family, please click the Share Memories button above.
Mark had a love of history from an early age, begging his older relatives to regale him with tales from their childhood. He would go on to channel his love of the past into a successful career as a museum administrator. He graduated from Topeka West High School in 1966, Washburn University with a political science degree in 1971, and the SUNY – Oneonta Cooperstown Graduate Program for museum studies in 1982. Mark brought history to life with exhibits, events and speakers at museums across the country, including the National Boy Scout Museum, the Ronald Reagan Presidential Library and Museum, and the Franklin D. Roosevelt Presidential Library and Museum. He always said his proudest professional accomplishment was overseeing the construction and development of the permanent exhibits at the Kansas Museum of History. It was his love letter to his home state.
But Mark would say the role he most revered was that of family man. He met his wife, Cyndy, at a history conference in Florida. There were instant sparks, in part because their waiter set the dinner rolls on fire on their first date. Ten days after meeting, Mark proposed. Cyndy sensibly turned him down but within the year, the couple was married. Tuesday would have been their 41st wedding anniversary.
Mark raised his two children, Alexander and Alice Claire, to question everything, research what they didn’t know, and to treat everyone they came across with dignity and fairness. His children grew up with a dictionary at the dinner table and more hugs than they could ever count. While they would never beat him at Trivial Pursuit, cards or Scrabble, they did learn the value of hard work, manual labor, and seeking answers.
Mark was a proud lifelong Boy Scout. Dreaming of adventure, he joined the Boy Scouts as a child and made friends he kept his entire life. He earned his Eagle Award at the age of 13, and went on to join the Sea Scouts, racing sailboats and camping in the cold. When his son, Alex, was old enough, Mark became his troop leader, pushing and pulling an entire generation of boys through to responsible adulthood.
In many ways, Mark was a man from another era. He disliked computers, calling them a “fad,” (until he discovered Wikipedia and Netflix, that is). He spoke with the eloquence and vocabulary of a 19th-century Oxford professor. He preferred classical and big band music to the rock-and-roll of his youth. But he was also ahead of his time, making sure his son AND his daughter knew how to use tools equally, and allowing the women in his office to bring babies to work long before it was fashionable. Mark was a deeply moral man, a good man. His absence is a crater in the lives of those who love and respect him.
Mark is survived by his wife, Cyndy; his son, Alexander Rush of San Anselmo, Calif.; his daughter, Alice Claire of Topeka; his sister, Diane (Dale) Schafer; and many cousins, nieces and nephews. He is predeceased by his father and mother, I.B. Hunt, Jr. and Marjorie May McConnell Hunt.
The visitation will be held from 6-7:30 p.m. Tuesday, Feb. 21, at Penwell-Gable Midtown Chapel, 1321 SW 10th Ave. The funeral service will be held at 10 a.m. Wednesday, Feb. 22, at Lowman United Methodist Church, 4000 SW Drury Ln., followed by a graveside service at Mount Hope Cemetery, 17th and Fairlawn Road.
In lieu of flowers, the family requests donations be made to: Jayhawk Area Council, BSA; 1020 SE Monroe; Topeka, KS 66612.
To leave a special message for the family, please click the Share Memories button above.