Obituary for
Nelly Luisa Hunter (Gygax)
In lieu of flowers please consider donating to my parents’ favorite cause: The New Mexico Boys and Girls Ranch https://www.theranches.org/invest-in-our-youth/
My mom was born in Cali, Colombia to Swiss parents. This, in itself was quite a story! Growing up Protestant in a Catholic country was a source of great stories. If anyone knew my mom, they knew she was an accomplished storyteller! Stories about her travels throughout the world, her teachings, her parents and grandparents and their coffee growing farm in Titiribí, Antioquia! And being Colombian, she had a lot of trouble going through Customs everywhere she went. So she regaled us with all her intricate stories about that. However, as my friend Gary said yesterday, "she won't be having any trouble going through Customs today". I'm sure she didn't.
Also, my mom was a teacher, kind and generous to a fault! And she loved her students and all my friends. To this day, her students write to her and given any opportunity, visit with her to enjoy her joy of living intensely! My friends were always welcome in our home and she was famous for her brownies. Sometimes it seemed my friends came more to see her than me. And I remember vividly how she would feed us and at times (after High School) gave us scotch and talked to us for hours! Friendship and kindness were her trademarks.
Also, she treated everyone with respect; from the kid that carried her baskets in the local market (who she encouraged and sponsored to get an education and later on a great job!) to any dignitary she met. However, you would make a great mistake to confuse my mom’s kindness with weakness. She was tough as nails and would never give up.
My mom was an avid reader of all kinds of literature. And having achieved her degree in Philosophy, History and Literature, her passion was history and could name the monarchies of Europe without fail. It was a pleasure to talk to her about European and Colombian history, of which she lived through quite a bit. She had seen or met people we read about in history books, especially her story with the Aga Khan in Switzerland and some of the prominent political leaders of Colombia during the 1940’s and 50’s.
She was also a devout Episcopalian. She was the co-founder of Trinity Church and School in Cali, Colombia to which she devoted quite a bit of time, effort, sweat, and tears. Some of the graduates of that school still visited her often in Cali.
But my mom’s story would not be complete without including my dad. My dad was her greatest love ever. She loved him to the day she died. In fact, I saw her grieve him the night before she passed. They were an incredible and improbable love story.
Nelly Hunter is survived by her sons Paul and Kenneth and their spouses Lina and Patricia, her grandchildren Paul Kenneth and his wife Ashley, Jesse Noel and her husband Eric, Diana Carolina, Felipe, Mariana and Alejandro, and her great grandson Jackson Paul.