George Thomas Hunter, 85, passed away peacefully on September 9th at the Western North Carolina Baptist Home in Asheville. The eldest son of the late George F. and Irene Williams Hunter, Tom and his brothers, Bill and Bobby, grew up in Brevard on Country Club Road. He married Betty Jean Taylor in 1953. They had three sons, Robert, John and Rick, and were married until Betty's death in 2005. A veteran of the U.S. Air Force, Tom was an early employee of the DuPont Plant in Cedar Mountain, working as an electrician and instrument technician, before moving on to serve as a Plant Manager at Mitchell-Bissell, Inc. in the 1970s. After relocating to Florida in 1976, he and Betty lived and worked in Lakeland, Florida, Augusta, Georgia, and Charleston, South Carolina, before retiring back to Brevard. During his life Tom had been an avid fly fisherman and backyard gardener, enjoyed golf, was a beekeeper, and once built a motorboat from scratch in his garage. Talented and insightful in all technical matters, he valued precision in his work, and seldom met a mechanical or electrical problem he could not eventually solve. He is survived by sons Robert T. Hunter (wife Sherrie, deceased) of Sebring, Florida, John C. Hunter and wife Sue, of Asheville, and Richard L. Hunter and wife Sheila, of Brevard; a brother, William D. Hunter and wife Cleo of Penrose; 11 grandchildren, 11 great-grandchildren, and 1 great-great-grandchild. Tom was predeceased by a brother, Robert L. Hunter (wife JoAnn) of Brevard. His family would like to thank the staff of the Baptist Home for the care and attention they gave Tom over the past two years, and wish to recognize Lillian Smith for the companionship she brought to Tom's life after Betty's passing. A graveside service is scheduled for 11:00 a.m., Saturday, September 18th, at Blue Ridge Gardens of Memory Cemetery, 994 Hendersonville Highway, Pisgah Forest, The Reverend Roger Reardon, officiating. Online condolences may be left at www.moodyconnollyfuneralhome.com Moody-Connolly Funeral Home and Crematory are caring for the family.