Ralph E. Hunt, 86
Coeur d'Alene Press | UPDATED 1 month, 2 weeks AGO
Hunt
Dr. Ralph Edward Hunt, 86, of Nederland, Colo., overcame his battle with pancreatic cancer Saturday, Sept. 13, 2025, three and a half years after his diagnosis. While Dr. Hunt’s last four days were spent in the True Community Hospice unit at Longmont United Hospital, he remained engaged with friends and family until the last week of his life, which culminated in a pop-up drive-through brisket barbecue he hosted for friends, his distinctive version of a celebration of life.
He is survived by his beloved wife, Maria Vidos Hunt; two sons, Brian Hunt and wife Helle of Sleiverudasen, Norway, and Darren Hunt and wife Jessica of Ft. Wayne, Ind.; six grandchildren, Daniel Hunt and wife Anna of Atlanta, Ga., Tea Hunt and husband Tom Kloven of Tanager, Norway, Weston Hunt and wife Morgan Fishers, Ind., and Colton, Carson, and Lilah Rose Hunt of Ft. Wayne, Ind.; and three great-grandchildren, Lily and MaeBy of Stavanger, Norway, and Jace Jordan Hunt of Atlanta, Ga.
Ralph Hunt approached life with cancer the same way he dealt with life habitually. He delighted in exploring, savoring, and sharing extraordinary and modest experiences. He worked as a general surgeon in the Philippines, Coeur d’Alene, Idaho, Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, Sacramento, Calif., and Chamberlain, S.D., before retiring in 2000 to move back to where it all began in Kansas City, Mo., where he supported his wife’s work as a psychology professor at Avila University before she retired and they moved to Nederland, Colo., in 2013.
Captain Hunt was a flight surgeon in the Air Force during the Vietnam War and received the Vietnam Service Medal for time spent in support of American pilots. He led a full life as a husband, a father/uncle/grandfather/great-grandfather and a “bonus” son/brother/father to his wife’s parents and sisters.
He was a loyal friend and knew few strangers. He will be remembered for the fruits of his labor as a physician and surgeon, and he will also be missed as an exceptional chef, instrument-rated pilot, swimming and triathlon athlete, certified personal trainer, investment buff, trumpet enthusiast, fly fishing devotee and poetry-in-motion skier.
To know Ralph was to love Ralph. We will sorely miss him.
M.P. Murphy & Associates Funeral Directors of Boulder, Colo., is in charge of arrangements.