I put this on my brother's wall today.
Hello, my name is Laurie, I'm Scott's sister.
Scott has passed away after a lengthy illness borne with pragmatism and humor.
He went out on his own terms with great courage.
Thank you to his friend Cheryl.
He is pain free now and was ready to see his son John again.
Please keep a kind thought for his love Denise and her family who took him in when he was unable to be with us. It's comforting to his twin Shelley and I to know that he had kids and grandkids and many friends who loved him. I'm sure they'll miss their *Grumpa*
I was tasked with this notice/eulogy/roast by Scott and he asked me to mention how quiet he was and how he kept to himself. Right there you get the way he worked, he wanted this to be funny but not too funny, sad but not too sad, short but not too short, you get the idea.
Scott and Shelley were leap year twins, born February 29th, 1960, so right off the bat they were considered special. They were premature and together weighed as much as I did when I came along two years later. Much to my parent's relief.
Can you imagine a pair of 20 year old small town kids (21 was the age of consent) running off to Vancouver, getting pregnant BEFORE they got married? Not only that but there were TWO of them, born on the leap year. It was written up in the paper, both locally and nationally. So right away mom was humiliated.
We were five, a tight unit that did pretty much everything together. Scott was Ichabod (Icky for short), Shelley was Sam, and I was George. We lived in some pretty ramshackle places, loose windows, mold, drafts. Iced up windows on the inside in winter, sitting in front of the oven trying to get warm in the morning. That's why we like to camp I guess.
Our family camping trips were a cross between The Hunger Games, Naked and Afraid and a bit of Manhunter to keep us on our toes.
Five people, two dogs, an 18ft skiff with a 40hp. Off to Porcher Island for 9 or 10 days every summer.
We fished, we walked, we beachcombed, we shot rifles, but mostly we sat around the fire cooking hunks of beef, smoking, singing and laughing. There was always the laughter, a tad jarring and hysterical at times, but always there.
The Hunters invented swapping lies, learned at the knee of the greatest bull-shitter of all time, dear old dad. There was the truth, the other opinion, then the fabrication that tied it all together.
Scott loved to drive, go for a road trip or just drive up and down 3rd when we were teenagers. Our parents were always taking us for drives, mom in her curlers dad with an extra layer of Vitalis for men in/on/through his hair. We'd sing along to the radio and they'd open their fly windows and smoke. There was always gum, but we had to share. 3 kids 3 pieces of gum! Yeah no. One for dad, one for mom and 1/3 for each kid.
Scott loved to sing, we all did. There was always a radio on in the kitchen always the same time as the TV. He loved the Mod Squad and would rush home after school to watch it, or more likely from McClymont Park where he'd been skipping school.
He knew all the words to The Brady Bunch, The Partridge Family and Walt Disney theme songs and would delight us with his performance of same at odd hours day and night. Did I mention he liked to sing? He sang loudly to make up for his lack of talent. Dad always told him he couldn't carry a tune in a bucket.
Scott excelled in school.
Hahahaha sorry! I'm imagining your faces.
Scott joined the Navy when he was 17 and met Sylvia the mother of his two children, Amanda and John. Amanda we love you if you ever see this. Scott loved his kids, even going so far as not to eat himself when times were tight so the kids could have their fill. He did his best with what he had.
He was predeceased by John in 2020. I'm happy they had a relationship in their last years.
If I can say anything at all nice about him I'd have to say he had a great work ethic and he stuck to his guns. Yes I mean he was stubborn and hard headed but that is also the Hunter way. So those of you taking note: Lying, bad singing, hard headedness, driving, smoking, hard working is the Hunter way.
I hope to be able to use this space to add more stories, we'll see how I go, I'll add a lot of pictures and I encourage all of you to do the same.
It's all water under the bridge now, even if the bridge is floating. I love my brother.
He wanted to tell you all "See you on the flip side!"
I hope you're at peace now Icky. There's no one I'd rather share a third of a piece of Juicy fruit with than you and Shelley.
Say hi to mom and dad for me and tell an epic porkie about this whole journey around the fire.
George
