RIGMHunt
Contents
WILLIAM GROVER HUNT 1923-2014
- Grand Master 1974-1975
- MM 1946, WM 1963, Rising Sun #30
- Member 1978, WM 1988, 1989, Eastern Star, Rehoboth, MA
BIOGRAPHY
FROM RHODE ISLAND PROCEEDINGS
William Grover Hunt of Rising Sun Lodge No. 30, F. & A. M. of East Providence, was elected and installed the One Hundred and Nineteenth Most Worshipful Grand Master of the Grand Lodge of the Most Ancient and Honorable Society of Free and Accepted Masons for the State of Rhode Island and Providence Plantations at the One Hundred and Eighty-third Annual Communication held at the Scottish Rite Cathedral, Providence, Rhode Island on May 20, 1974.
Most Worshipful Brother Hunt was bom in Riverside, Rhode Island on September 8, 1923, the son of Arthur B. and Marion (Grover) Hunt.
He was educated in the East Providence Public Schools, graduating from High School in 1941. In September of 1941, he entered the University of Rhode Island, where he was a member of Lambda Chi Alpha Fraternity, but left the University a year and a half later when he was called into the Army. After serving in the European Theater with the 75th Infantry Division, he returned to college in 1946, graduating in 1948 with a degree in accounting. He is a member and Past President of the U. R. I. Alumni Association.
Upon graduation from U. R. I. Brother Hunt was employed for one year by the Massachusetts Mutual Life Insurance Company as a salesman.
In 1949 he entered the employ of the Amica Mutual Insurance Company, where he presently holds the positron of Assistant Secretary.
On July 22, 1950 he married Marion Louise Reynolds and this union has been blessed with three daughters, Barbara, Judith and Meredith, and two sons, William R. and John.
Most Worshipful Brother Hunt has been a life-long member of the Second Baptist Church in East Providence and has served in many capacities — auditor, teacher, Superintendent of Sunday School, and a member of the Board of Trustees.
Brother Hunt was raised a Master Mason in Rising Sun Lodge No. 30, East Providence in December 1946. He was elected its Worshipful Master in May, 1963. He was the sixth member of his family to be elected Master of Rising Sun Lodge. In 1965, he was appointed District Deputy Grand Master in the 7th District and later served in each of the seven districts. He was elected Junior Grand Warden in 1971, Senior Grand Warden in 1972 and Deputy Grand Master in 1973.
He is a member of the four bodies of the Ancient Accepted Scottish Rite, Valley of Providence. He is currently an officer in Rhode Island Consistory. He is a member of Palestine Temple, A. A. O. N. M. S. Masonic Veterans Association, Honorary member of Eastern Star Lodge, Rehoboth, Mass.
Most Worshipful Brother Hunt gave the Keynote Address at the Annual Conference of Grand Masters of North America in Washington, D. C. in February 1975.
FROM TROWEL, 1988
From TROWEL, Spring 1988, Page 6:
Bill Hunt - a Brother Who Still Cares
When many members choose to sit at the brow of a hill to rest and refresh themselves, others are continuously vibrant workmen in the temple. Raised in Rising Sun Lodge No. 30 of East Providence, RI, in 1946, Bro. William G. Hunt was installed Master of Eastern Star Lodge, Rehoboth, Nov. 14. He had affiliated with the Lodge in 1978. What makes Bro. Hunt different from other Masters?
He is a Past Grand Master of the Grant Lodge of Rhode Island and Providence Plantations, serving in 1974, he has answered the need of his adopted Massachusetts Lodge, and has been actively participating in the visitations of the Taunton 28th District. He began his work in the official line of Rhode Island in 1964 as the D. D. G. M. of the Seventh District. Progressing through all of the seven districts means installing the Masters of Lodges in each district.
Bill Hunt comes from a long and distinguished family of Hunts who have worked industriously for Freemasonry. His great-grandfather, Simeon Hunt, was Master of Rising Sun Lodge 1886-87; his grandfather, William W, was Master 1901-02, and his father, Arthur B., was Master 1934-35. A brother, Arthur B. Hunt, Jr., was Master 1956-57, and an uncle, Frederic J. Hunt, was Master 1926-27, while his great-uncle, Ernest H. Johnson, served the Lodge 1899-1900.
Coroneted a 33rd degree Mason in Boston in 1984, he was Commander-in-Chief of Rhode Island Consistory in 1982 and 1983, and is a member of Palestine Temple, A.A.O.N.M.S. When his wife, Marion L. "Candy" Hunt, was Worthy Matron of Rehoboth Chapter, Order of the Eastern Star, Bill was her Worthy Patron. She was an elementary school teacher in East Providence for 21 years.
Receiving a B.S. degree in Accounting from the University of Rhode Island in 1948, Bro. Bill has been President of the school's Alumni Association and class agent for 25 years. His wife graduated from the same school in 1949. Prior to their moving from East Providence to Rehoboth, they were active in the Second Baptist Church and now both are workers in the Rehoboth Congregational Church that was established in 1721. They have five college-educated children, two of whom (Judith and John) live on the west coast; two others (Barbara and William) live in Connecticut, and the fifth, Meredith, is now serving with the Peace Corps in Thailand. Marion's brother, John, also spent two years in the Peace Corps in Thailand. Barbara's husband, Frank Daly, is Junior Deacon in Washington Lodge No. 19, Monroe, CT.
Bill Hunt has been an underwriting officer since 1949 for the Arnica Mutual Insurance Co. of Providence. He was keynote speaker for the Conference of Grand Masters of North America in 1975 and the speaker at the Brotherhood Night of New England Grand Lodges in 1985. He is Masonically-motivated and community-spirited, committing himself to the institutions that have served mankind well in the past and will continue to do so in the future.
