ATHENS- Earle Raymond Hunt, age 87 of Athens, died Monday January 29, 2024 at Grant Hospital in Columbus. Born March 7, 1936 in Petersburg, Virginia, he was the son of the late Herbert J. Hunt and Verda Engst Hunt. He was a graduate of Vineland High School and received a BS in 1958 from Rutgers University in New Brunswick, New Jersey. In 1962, he was awarded a Doctor of Philosophy in Physics also from Rutgers University. Afterwards, he moved to Duke University in Durham, NC, where he was a post-doctoral research associate, instructor, and assistant professor.
Earle Hunt moved to Athens in 1967 when he joined the Physics Department at Ohio University. His research involved nuclear magnetic resonance, low-temperature physics, chaos and its control, and scanning tunneling microscopy. He mentored 12 Ph.D. students and numerous M.S. students. Dr. Hunt was honored as a Fellow of the American Physical Society in 1999. He retired as a Professor Emeritus in 2001 after 34 years of service. His outside activities included passions for tennis, woodworking, canoeing, riding bikes, and vacations at the shore.
Earle is preceded in death by his beloved wife, Anne, of 65 years. Besides his wife and parents, he is preceded in death by two brothers, Bernard and Richard Hunt. He is survived by three sons, Earle “Ray” (Marie Quinto) Hunt Jr. of Silver Spring, MD, Walter “Wally” (Julie) Hunt of Napa, CA, and Dennis “Denny” Hunt of Atascadero, CA; a daughter, Cyndee Burkhart of Albany; six grandchildren, Nathan (Mary Duggan) Hunt, Brooke (Bryan) Zar, Lindsay Zegers, Angel Burkhart, Laura (Ronald “Doug” II) Herdman, and Charlotte Miller; ten great-grandchildren, Sarah Hunt, Jayden Hunt, Tyler Berg, Cali Toubia, Olive Toubia, Bodhi Toubia, Destiny Burkhart, Ronald Herdman III, Rosalee Herdman, and Coraline Hall; two great- great-grandchildren, Aria and Violet Burkhart; and one brother, Clifford Hunt.
In lieu of flowers, memorial contributions may be made to Ohio University (https://give.ohio.edu), designating the College of Arts and Sciences, Dept. of Physics and Astronomy, and/or The Nature Conservancy (https://www.nature.org/en-us/membership-and-giving/donate-to-our-mission/). Arrangements are with Jagers & Sons Funeral Home, Athens. Please share a memory, a note of condolence or sign the online register at www.jagersfuneralhome.com.
