Mr. Francis Ronald (Ronnie) Hunter

Editorial Department • Published 10 Dec 2009 09:00

Much sadness has been felt following the recent death of Ronnie Hunter, who passed away peacefully at his home, Hilron, Lisreagh, Lisbellaw, on November 3, 2009.

Ronnie was born on November 9, 1950. He was the youngest of three children and the only son of the late Frank and Violet Hunter, Lisreagh, Lisbellaw, and a loving brother to Muriel and the late Eileen.

He was educated at Lisbellaw and Tamlaght Primary Schools and Enniskillen Intermediate Secondary School. On leaving school at 16, Ronnie was employed by Creighton's, Lisbellaw. Ronnie did a period of training in the training centre in Omagh. He also worked for Slack and Parr, Kent Plastics, erecting TV aerials, Stewart's Furniture and the DOE Roads Service.

In 1980 Ronnie took over the running of the family farm, which was mainly dairy, and he always had a great interest in milk production and livestock.

It was in this same year that he met Hilary Moore from Killen, Castlederg and they were married on May 16, 1981. Over the years they found great joy in the arrival of their four children and in more recent years the addition of their three grandchildren.

Ronnie continued dairy farming until 2004 when he sold the herd and took up a job once more in Creighton's. He still kept on beef cattle and with his son Darren's interest and involvement introduced sheep farming.

Ronnie, along with his son and sons-in-law, recently took on round baling contracts for friends and neighbours. Ronnie was a man who gave 100 per cent commitment to all he was involved in.

He had a keen interest in Lisbellaw Methodist Church and played a key role in the construction of the new hall. He was one of the founding members of Lisbellaw Credit Union; he was a member and chaplain of Derryclavin LOL 729; a member of the Royal Arch Purple and a former member of Derryclavin Pipe Band. He gave a lot of his time and effort to the construction of their new hall also. Ronnie loved sports; he played badminton and table tennis and enjoyed watching football, Formula One and boxing.

Ronnie took great joy in designing and planning the erection of his new bungalow which he and his family moved into in October 2008. It was from Christmas 2008 that Ronnie's health began to decline. After several spells in hospital, he was diagnosed in June 2009. He accepted his illness with great courage, determination and Ronnie's faith in God allowed him to live his life to the full.

Just three weeks before his passing he took a plane flight in a light aircraft over County Fermanagh. Ronnie passed home to God peacefully on November 3, 2009, surrounded by his family.

A short service was conducted in the home by the Rev. Mark Liddicoat and then the funeral cortege made its way to Lisbellaw Methodist Church. The church and hall were filled to capacity for the service of thanksgiving conducted by Rev. Mark Liddicoat, accompanied by Rev. William Steacy. Ronnie's daughter Donna paid tribute to him with a poem and John Creighton also paid a personal tribute to Ronnie.

Ronnie himself had picked his favourite hymns: "O love that wilt not let me go," " The Old Rugged Cross" and "There is coming a day" as well as preparing his own personal testimony which was read during the service. A special track by 'The Inspirations' called "If you only knew" was also played during the service as it was a song very close to Ronnie's heart and was a great comfort to him during his illness. Ronnie loved his church and donations in lieu of flowers are going towards Lisbellaw Methodist Church.

Ronnie is survived by his wife Hilary, children Cheryl, Donna, Darren and Sarah-Jane, sons-in-law Colin and Andrew, grandchildren Alex, Joshua and Sophie, sister Muriel and extended family and brother-in-law Harry. Ronnie was predeceased by his sister Eileen in June 2007.

Interment took place in Tattygar cemetery and funeral arrangements were carried out by S. R. Elliott and Sons, Darling Street, Enniskillen.

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This article appeared in Impartial Reporter 10 Dec 09

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