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IN MEMORY

Joan Bayer (Hunt) - Class Of 1959

Joan Ann Hunt passed away on July 9, 2023.  Born on October 17, 1941 in Burlington, WI, she was the daughter of Emily and Alfred Bayer.  She traveled with them to Long Beach, CA during WWII, returning to Wisconsin to begin school at the end of the war.  She had two brothers, James and Gary.  She was a straight A student, graduating from Bradford High School in Kenosha in 1959.  Her father thought she was taking home economics courses, when she was secretly taking chemistry and math.  She then began to put her superb typing skills to work as a secretary for the federal government at Great Lakes Naval Training Center.  She could type in excess of 100 words per minute on a manual typewriter, a skill her sons later put to work typing papers on their behalf when they were in college.

It was at Great Lakes that she met her future husband, career Navy man Richard Hunt.  They married in 1961.  There began moves every two years, going to the Panama Canal Zone, Norfolk, VA, back to Great Lakes, Bangkok, Thailand and Norfolk, VA again.  Her two sons, Mark and John, were born in Panama in 1963 and 1964.  Following her divorce, she returned to Winthrop Harbor, IL, where she would live the rest of her life.

In the late seventies, Joan decided to change careers to computers and took a job as a computer operator at Ft. Sheridan, IL, while solo raising her two teenage sons.  It was unbelievable that she could juggle all of these balls and still be successful.  She was a pioneer as a female computer programmer at the Military Entrance Processing Command (MEPCOM) in Waukegan, IL.  She advanced to become a systems analyst, finally retiring in 2000.  

In retirement, she enjoyed taking care of her home, going to her favorite restaurants and attending estate sales.  She also had more time for her long-time favorite pastime of reading, a love that she passed on to her two sons.  She was known for having a mischievous glint in her eye and a beautiful smile.  She was well loved by her sons, sons’ families, neighbors and co-workers and will be greatly missed.

Published in the Kenosha News on July 15, 2023.

Website admin note:  Joan’s obituary, posted on the Daniels Family Funeral Home website, indicates no services will be held.