Mary “Ida” Hunter died peacefully in her sleep early in the morning on Friday, July 20th. She had family right by her side. In her final weeks, she was able to fulfill her final wish to be able to go to her home in Salyer and spend some time with her furry friends, her dogs Bea, Bugz Bugz, and Pickles.

She had an incredibly strong will to live and survived way longer than any of her doctors expected.  We know that she did this because she wanted to be with her family as long as she could.  One of the last things she said to us was “LIVE LIFE.” 

Ida was born on June 12, 1943 on the island of Flores in the Azores Islands of Portugal.  She moved to the states with her parents, John and Hermenia Avelar, and her sister Celeste when she was eight years old.  She grew up in Humboldt County, where she married her first husband Norman Lay and had four children.  

Ida worked for many years as a bartender in Eureka and in Willow Creek.  She had a love for life, a wonderful smile and a caring heart.  She let her family and friends know that she loved them and cherished them every day of her life.  Even in her last days she had a contagious smile that lit up the room.  She was the most accepting and kind person and never met anyone who was a stranger to her.

Ida met the love of her life John Paul “Jack” Hunter in Willow Creek.  They married at their home in Salyer on September 1, 1986, which was Jack’s birthday. He always said that she was his birthday present.  Jack and Ida spent many happy days hunting for agates in Gold Beach, Oregon.  They loved to pack a picnic lunch and go out collecting firewood.   They loved spending time together and with their family. They traveled together to Alaska and returned to Ida’s place of birth in the Azores Islands several times together.  Ida also loved to go to the casino when she had the chance.

She is preceded in death by her husband, Jack Hunter, her parents, John Avelar and Hermenia Allison, as well as her grandson James Earl Lay Jr.

Ida is survived by her children, James Lay Sr., Teresa Schieberl, Norma Kottre, Ida Cruz and her husband Tony, Lori and Dave Dorsey, Nancy and Paul Ayers; her sister Celeste Peck and her husband David Peck; her grandchildren Sophia, Alexis, John, David, Alicia, Nick, Amanda, Joe, Diane, Danny, Emily and Natalie; as well as many great-grandchildren.

The family would like to give special thanks to her “other” daughter, Melva Hurn, for all the care and love she gave to our family and mom during the final days her life.  We would also like to thank Dr. Mahoney (who made sure mom was comfortable during her final days) and Natalia (who spent time with us and sang songs with mom in Portuguese).   We would also like to thank the Hospice House of Eureka for their kindness.

Please join us for a celebration of life that will be held on September 1, 2018 (her and Jack’s Wedding Anniversary date as well as Jack’s birthday).   This will be a special day for us and we hope to Celebrate that Mom & Jack are together again.   The Celebration of Life is being held at Merriman’s Beach House in Trinidad at 2 p.m.

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The obituary above was submitted on behalf of Ida Hunter’s family. The Lost Coast Outpost runs obituaries of Humboldt County residents at no charge. See guidelines here.