A Tribute To A Sedalia Treasure: Donnie Hunter

This week has been a sad moment for Sedalia. One of the sweetest people in all of Pettis County died this week.I'm sure a lot of you knew Donnie Hunter. He was a tireless help to so many children in our area with the local Lions Club. He was an amazing father, a wonderful friend, and a true life partner to his wife.

He was also a joker.

A practical joker.

I don't think anybody who met Donnie didn't get taken in by something he said. He was always making people laugh, making them smile, and keeping us at the station updated on the accurate rainfall. I think he wanted to make people happy. He wanted people to feel good. That's a very pure thought; just an intention to be positive.

A few years back he was diagnosed with progressive supranuclear palsy, which is a rare disorder that affects movement, control of walking and balance, speech, swallowing, vision, mood and behavior, and thinking. The disease results from damage to nerve cells in the brain. For a while, he didn't tell most people about it.  I think he kind of wanted to play a little joke on everyone again - by tricking them a little into thinking maybe he'd had a few.  That's probably not it, though, it's just a case of needing a little privacy.

I'm sure a lot of you knew him, and a lot of you attended the visitation last night at Rea Funeral Chapel. If you didn't get the chance, the burial will be at Crown Hill Cemetary at 10:30 a.m., if you want to pay your respects.

Thanks, Donnie.  You made me laugh. You were a friend. You were always kind, even if you did pull our legs a little. We could see that loving heart just shine through.. you couldn't have hid that if you tried. You gave a lot of people hope. You inspired people by fighting your disorder for as long as your body could. You'll be missed.

If you missed it, here's his wife Terri's tribute to Donnie.

Thankfully,

Behka