Sandra Elizabeth Gray Hunt was born May 16, 1935, to the late Nellie Elizabeth Carlton Gray and the late Henry Grady Gray of Minden. She spent her childhood in Minden, surrounded by family and close friends. Sandra graduated from Minden High School, class of 1953. She was Miss Minden 1953. She then attended Louisiana State University where she was a Gumbo Beauty and Favorite and a member of Kappa Kappa Gamma sorority. While at LSU, she spent a summer attending Stanford University and a summer in Hawaii at the University of Hawaii. Sandra graduated from LSU in 1957.
On July 13, 1957, Sandra wed the late Virgil Davis Hunt of Ruston. Davis was introduced to Sandra by her late brother, Charles Carlton Gray, with whom he served in the United States Army during the Korean War. Sandra and Davis were the parents of three children and spent most of their lives in Ruston.
In 1991 Sandra and Davis moved to Nashville, Tenn., to live part time and be near their children. While in Nashville they made many new friends and greatly enjoyed attending the Nashville Symphony Orchestra. Upon Davis’ death, Sandra returned to Ruston for the remainder of her life.
Sandra loved working with her hands and was an accomplished seamstress making lovely clothes for her grandchildren. She also loved to knit and needlepoint, play the piano, and work in her beautiful yard. Sandra was an avid and excellent gourmet cook who enjoyed passing her skills on to her daughters.
Dogs were a big love of her life and she owned a fine succession of them. She was active in the old First Presbyterian Church of Ruston and a member of the Ruston Junior Guild. She was a member of Squire Creek Country Club In Ruston and Belle Meade Country Club in Nashville.
Many summers were spent with her family and friends on their boat on the Gulf of Mexico and in the Caribbean fishing. Sandra also accompanied her husband on travels associated with his lumber business where they made many dear friends from across the country.
She is survived by her three children, daughter, Elizabeth Alverne Hunt Wallace; her husband, Johnson Bransford and their four children, Johnson Bransford III, Martha Ansley, Elizabeth Bullard and Sandra Gray of Nashville, Tenn.; son, Virgil Davis Hunt, Jr., his wife, Mary Kay Anderson and their four children, Virgil Davis III, Alexander Stewart, Mary Eugenia Anderson and George Anderson of Nashville, Tenn.; and daughter, Martha Ansley Hunt Givhan, her husband, Frederick Bear and their three children, Frederick Bear Jr., Ansley Elizabeth, and Martha Hunt of Dallas, Texas.
She is also survived by her sister-in-law, Tracy Gray of Dallas; niece, Carmen Gray and her husband, Wade Stallings of Durango, Colo.; nephew, Charles Gray Jr. and his wife, Fell of New York, N.Y.; brother-in-law, Alexander Trotter Hunt Jr. and his wife, Willie of Ruston; nephew, Alexander Trotter Hunt III and his wife, Karen of Ruston; nephew, James Davis Hunt and his wife, Ann of Spartanburg, S. C.; brother-in-law, Thomas Morgan Hunt of Ruston; and many great nieces and nephews.
The family is grateful to the women who tenderly took care of their mother, Donna, Monica, Kavitia Joyce and Jessica. We are especially grateful to Jackie Foster who has been with the family for 27 years. We would also like to thank Kathy Spears and her staff at Professional Hospice Care for their kind and compassionate care.
There will be a graveside service at 4 p.m., Saturday, Oct. 11, 2014, at Forest Lawn Cemetery in Ruston, under the direction of Kilpatrick Funeral Home in Ruston, officiated by the Rev. Billy Barnes of Covenant Presbyterian Church Nashville, Tenn. Family and friends are invited to join the family after the service at their Ruston home. Donations may be sent to The Humane Society, St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital or the Nashville Symphony.
Online condolences may be sent to the family at www.kilpatrickfuneralhomes.com