Fr. Charles T. Hunter, S.J.

Fr. Charles Hunter was born in Belize City in 1912 to John Alexander and Laura Reyes Hunter. He attended St. John's College from 1923 to 1928 and followed an older brother to St. Mary's College, a Jesuit boarding school in Kansas (USA). He attended St. Mary's from 1928 to 1930 and then continued studies in London until 1932.

In the aftermath of the 1931 hurricane and with the death of his good friend Deodato Burn, SJ he entered the Society of Jesus in the United States with the intention of returning to Belize and working with fellow Jesuits there. While he was ordained in 1945 his return to Belize was not until 1974. At the time of his ordination he was involved in the revision of a popular series of Latin textbooks known as the Henle series, but a more apt name should be the Henle Hunter series given the immense amount of work Fr. Hunter put into the series.

After his ordination and upon completion of his studies he served in several important positions in the Missouri Province associated with the formation and training of young Jesuits. He began as an instructor of Jesuits in the early stage of their formation and was soon called upon to direct the large numbers of young men entering the Jesuits; he served in this position as Novice Director for ten years until 1966. At that time he was called upon to direct Jesuits in the final stage of their formation. He served in this position of Tertian Director for two years before being named pastor of St. Francis Xavier Parish in St. Louis. This was a large parish associated with St. Louis University.

In 1974 he was assigned to St. John's College to assist in the formation of the faculty and to teach in the Junior College. It was at this point that he developed his intense interest in Caribbean literature after years of teaching the Latin and Greek Classics. He became very knowledgeable of the entire body of Caribbean litera­ture and devoted his energy to communicating not only his knowledge but his enthusiasm for the literature to a generation of junior college students at SJC. In 1983 he was able to travel extensively throughout the Caribbean to meet with some of the Caribbean writers and with others who shared his passion for the literature of the region.

He integrated his study of Caribbean literature with his theological insights and was very active in formation programs for Catholic School religion teachers and for lay ministers throughout his years as a teacher. He was a regular contributor to the Christian Herald as well.

Failing eyesight forced Fr. Hunter to retire from the classroom in 1990, and later, from writing. He resided at the Jesuit Community at St. John's College until his death, in St. Louis, Missouri, on December 7, 2002.