Jim and Nancy Hunter Broaden Legacy of Catholic Education

When Jim and Nancy Hunter first met as students at West Catholic High School, “It was kind of a chance encounter,” says Jim. Details get a bit murky with time, but both remember a friend introducing one to the other while Nancy stood near her locker between periods. “We’ve been together since then…which was a long time now,” he adds. “60 years.”

In the decades that have passed since the couple first met, the two have built a life founded in faith and dedicated to family. Together they have prioritized Catholic education, even through challenging times, ensuring that the Hunter family would seek God and serve others for generations.

After graduating from West Catholic, Jim and Nancy’s lives took opposite directions. Nancy began working for a food brokerage in town and Jim joined the Marine Corps, later to serve in the Vietnam War. After Jim was gravely injured on patrol, he was medevaced onto the U.S.S. Repose for medical treatment.

During that time, “One of the things that meant a lot to me was that Nancy wrote to me every day, sometimes twice a day,” says Jim. His unit only received mail every 10 days, along with food and ammunition. And while “Some of these Marines didn’t get anything,” Jim often received a stack of letters from Nancy with warm wishes and news from home.

“It meant a lot to me,” he says. “Sometimes it’s hard to describe. You don’t know if you can keep going or not. It’s things like that that made a big difference to me.”

When asked about her unwavering letter writing to Jim during this time, Nancy simply replies, “Because I guess I loved him,” and smiles. “I knew she kind of liked me then,” confirms Jim, who shares that Nancy visited him in a Chicago Naval Hospital for medical treatment and rehabilitation. Then in 1968, when Jim finally made his way home, he proposed to Nancy. The two wed in 1969.

Focus on family
The young couple soon became parents to two children, Jamie and Tim. Having received
Catholic education themselves, Jim and Nancy were committed to sending their children to
faith-based schools. “Faith was a big issue,” says Jim of his own childhood. In the 1950s and 60s, priests and nuns filled the primary teaching roles for local Catholic schools. “Tuition wasn’t that much back in those days,” he shares.

However, “$500 was a lot of money to send your kid to a Catholic high school, but the value for the education certainly was worth it.”

The cost of private, faith-based education has increased over time, especially as the majority of teaching positions are filled by non-religious, but this did not sway Nancy and Jim from pursuing Catholic education for their children. They recalled and were inspired by their parents’ financial sacrifice for their Catholic education.

“We made up our minds way back when that we would send our kids to a Catholic grade school,” says Jim. They sent their children to Holy Spirit Catholic School where they received an “Absolutely tremendous education,” he adds. Their kids went on to graduate from West Catholic High School and now their grandchildren are following the same path.

From personal experiences as a student, then parent, and now grandparent, Jim believes that “Kids get so much more at a Catholic high school today than if they were at a public school.”

Supporting the next generation
In addition to sending their own children to Catholic schools, Jim and Nancy regularly tithed to their home parish, Holy Spirit, as well as gave toward Catholic education and ministries.

“We’ve always tried to do our part. We don’t come from the wealthiest backgrounds…but it meant a lot to us to provide for our children,” says Nancy.

In recent years, the couple has been able to support the Church and their alma mater even more, and through the inspiration of others they sought additional ways to give generously. On the West Catholic High School website, Jim stumbled upon several donor scholarships stories which motivated him to connect with the Catholic Foundation and West Catholic High School to learn more. Together, they created the Hunter Family Scholarship Fund to subsidize the cost of tuition for local families in need.

When asked for advice on living a faith-filled and generous life, Nancy responds, “Just keep praying.”

“We both pray a lot,” adds Jim. “Not just for us, but for our family and friends and the world.”

It’s this faith and optimism that fuels this couple’s support of Catholic education for students now and for decades to come.

As originally seen in 2022-2023 Annual Report