Phil Hunt: Family's Obituary

The family (via Rich Morris) has sent along the following official obituary for Phil Hunt, classmate of ours from the Douglas MacArthur High School Class of 1965. This should be read in conjunction with the previous tribute (here), which announced his death on August 4, 2012.

Phillip L. Hunt, age 65, has passed away at the home of his sister, in Caledonia, Michigan.  A graduate of McArthur High School and Southern Illinois University he was a United States Army veteran who served in the Viet Nam War.

Phil, owner of plh photography, had spent most of his career in San Francisco, California, before moving with his family to Idaho. He is survived by two sons, Eduard F. Hunt and William C. Hunt, and by his sister, Virginia (Ginger) Rollins. His parents, Francis L. Hunt and Opal Rhodes Hunt preceded him in death.

Phil Hunt loved music and always knew why the lyric was so important to make the melody speak to you. As a master photographer, he used that talent to compose his stunning visual songs with an adroit eye that captured images of beauty and character. His photographs literally painted a picture for the viewer with his extraordinary uses of lighting and exposure techniques.  His wonderful sense of humor allowed him to coach models into expressions that became the lyric of the image.

A skilled model and magazine photographer, he was nationally known for his commercial work with multiple US retail companies.   In the last few years, Phil concentrated on preserving photos, while living in Caledonia, Michigan.

He will forever be remembered for his amazing body of work and his dry sense of humor. In a recent interview Phil said, "This could be the time when your life is just beginning. Make the most of it."

There’s a hole in the world tonight.  Decatur, his family and friends,  have  lost a wonderful artist and dear man.  A private memorial service will be held at a later date in Idaho.

Phil Hunt Dies

Phil Hunt in 1965

Phil Hunt, 65, has passed away.  His full obituary will be added later, when it becomes available, but for now, I wanted to pass on the news that he had died, which was shared with me by Millie Smith.

Phillip Lloyd Hunt's MacArthur Class of 1965 Senior entry told of his involvement in Baseball 1, 2; Track 3, 4; Band 1, 2; Big Mac Day 2, and Float Committee 4.

But Phil's life seems to have had nothing to do with anything mentioned in his high school yearbook.

As many of you know, Phil was a famous and respected model, magazine, and celebrity photographer, having done most of his well-known work for Macy's and independently, when he was in San Francisco. In the last few years, he concentrated on preserving photos, while living in Caledonia, Michigan. Early reports of his death tell of his sister, whom he lived with, finding him.

Phil once posted this photo above in tribute to a friend of his who had died. Phil's Vietnam and military experiences were not central to his life, but he certainly seems to have appreciated how his time there resulted in the path he would choose.

Once upon a time, Phil was interviewed by a cousin named Lisa for her blog. She asked,

"When and how did you first discover your interest in photography, and what made you decide to make a career out of it?"

Here is Phil's answer: 

I think it started when I was around 8 or 9 years old. My mother used to bring home Life and Look magazine. I was always so amazed by the incredible pictures of all the beautiful people inside. I loved the back cover most of all though…The Breck Girl stole my heart in 1955.
Twelve years later, I got drafted and spent a year in Hanau, Germany before I went to Vietnam. Marvin, a friend of mine, used to walk around town and take pictures of things he found interesting just for fun. I asked him one day why he did it. “Well”, he said, “I do it because I like it and someday, I might take a picture that will make me rich”. “How so?” I asked. “The Hindenburg”, he said. “The guy that took the picture of the Hindenburg exploding was paid $10,000 for that one picture!” I bought my first camera on payday later that month and have been taking pictures ever since.

Phil Hunt

One way to mediate on Phil's death, I felt, might be to look at his photographs. Many of them, which he shared on his Facebook page and at his website, look very familiar, seen via ads and remembered forever. 

For your consideration, and in tribute to Phil, this is a small selection of Phil Hunt's photographs:

Emporium Capwell Cover 1985

Rene Russo: Outtake From a Macys Jewelry Catalogue 1973

Christy Turlington: San Francisco Chronicle – Full page ad 1985

 

Macys Christmas Catalogue Cover 1973

William Rhodes: Date Unknown
Restored 2007

"It’s easy to lose track of your dreams. 

Try to find them again and if they are 

still important to you now is the time 

to start living them."

~ Phil Hunt

"This could be the time when your life

 is just beginning. Make the most of it." 

~ Phil Hunt

Darrilyn Faye Castelli Dies

Darrilyn Faye Castelli Lewis

March 5, 1947 - February 19, 2012

Darrilyn Castelli Lewis, 64, of Decatur, died Sunday, February 19, 2012 at St. Mary’s Hospital, Decatur, Illinois.

Darrilyn was born March 5, 1947 in Decatur, Illinois, the daughter of Julius and Marian Castelli. She graduated in 1965 from Douglas MacArthur High School. 

Darrilyn Castelli married Alvin Lewis on December 11, 1983. She most recently worked at YMCA Child Care Center. 


Darrilyn had suffered a brain aneurysm a few months ago, was placed in a nursing home, and then returned to her home two months ago. As indicated above, most recently, she was transported to St. Mary's, where she passed away.

She leaves behind her husband Alvin; sister Sandy Thomas and husband Charlie of Pana; brothers Frank Castelli and wife Marge of Decatur; Dave Castelli and wife Helen of Toronto, Canada; Uncle Francis Castelli and wife Marcella of Decatur; nieces Fay Benson and husband Doug of Colorado; Joyce Conklin and husband Russ of Hallsville, Missouri; Angie Hughs and husband Nick of Decatur; Cindy Blankenship and husband Tim of Forsyth; Laura Castelli of Florida; nephews Mike Castelli and wife Rhonda of Lovington; and Jeff Castelli of Decatur.

She was preceded in death by her parents.

A graveside service to celebrate Darrilyn’s life will be 10 a.m. Friday, February 24, 2012 at Graceland Cemetery.

Fairview Park Bears

Larry "Bear" Logue passes this along from all of our pasts. Do you remember the bears at Fairview Park, Decatur, Illinois?

Pick Up Your Mac 65 Book Today!

The front, sample inside page, and back of the 100 page long Reunion and Directory Book.

Clarification Note:  You do not have to be a Mac 65 graduate to obtain this book. If you were unable to attend the reunion but wish to have this book, see near the end of this blog for instructions on getting a copy via the mail. We are trying to make ends meet, so help out by buying a copy at a reasonable rate. Thank you.

The Commencement Program for the Graduation Class of 1965 for MacArthur High School listed 360 people. What happened to all of these individuals?  Where did they go to school or end up working? Where do your high school friends live today? What have they been doing? How many are married to each other? Who has passed away and how? Now you can have the answers to all those questions and more.

The newly published reunion book was given out to those who are registered for the Mac 65 reunion (June 24-25, 2011, Decatur, Illinois). The publication contains the most comprehensive collection of biographical sketches ever assembled for the MacArthur High School graduates of 1965.

The effort to collect any kind of bio info on every class member has been so extensive, with such superb cooperation from a majority of the Class, the book is a massive tome. The information is presented in a perfect bound paperbound book, 8.5" by 11" in size, totaling 100 pages of text in Times News Roman 10 pt font. The biographies section alone is 23,000 words. Yes, it may require reading glasses for most, but the amount of information is so great, and the desire to keep the book affordable, small print was the solution. 

A variety of MacArthur classmate historical data is revealed. Which high school sweethearts are still together? What others have re-discovered each other years later and are happily with each other today? 

The book tells of the "first cars" of 120 members of the Class of 1965, who shared the type of the vehicle they initially owned. One person even told the name she gave her first car.  The "first car" passages contain an intriguing gathering of humorous memories of those vintage autos.

Finally, when this project began, who could have known that the stories of those who have died would be so compelling. Sometimes this was because of the identity of those who had passed away and the shock of a youthful age for a few deaths. Other times, it was because of how the person had died.

Among the Class of 1965, out of 360 graduates, it is known that 40 of our classmates have died.  Of these folks, the following are their causes of death, as recorded to date and detailed for each person within their bio entry in this new book:

Acute asthma attack (1)

Auto wreck, hit by a lumber truck (1)

Brain cancer (2)

Colon cancer (1)

Drowning accident (2)

Explosive device, Vietnam (1)

Gastric bypass surgery (1)

Head injuries, after a fall (1)

Heart disease (2)

Hunting accident (1)

Liver cancer

Lung cancer (2)

Motorcycle wreck, hit by a semi-truck (1)

Murder (2)

Pancreatic cancer (1)

Ruptured spleen (due to a fall) (1)

Traffic accident (1)

Unknown/age-related? (18)

The Table of Contents for this book is, as follows:

Title page (a page)

Introduction (a page)

Biographical Sketches (48 pages)

Contact Directory (10 pages)

Senior Pages 1965 (40 pages)

Were you unable to attend the reunion but want a copy of the book?  Pick up one for yourself or a relative of a graduate. Order it today, by using PayPal [ to LorenColeman@maine.rr.com ] or sending a check to Loren Coleman, PO Box 360, Portland, ME 04112.  The cost is $17.00, for the book, handling, and priority mailing.

In the meantime, send along new info for the constantly updated database of bios and obits for the MacArthur HS Class of 1965.

Decatur Tribune Highlights Reunion

A photographer from the Decatur Tribune attended the recent MacArthur Reunion. Also, the publisher interviewed Donna Camp about how she was able to obtain the Elam's sign for its special appearance, and the newspaper carried images from the event.

The June 29th issue of the Decatur Tribune, therefore, contains a front page notice (complete with the Elam's sign), and full coverage inside with quotes and several photographs.

The publisher has forwarded information on how anyone can obtain copies of the newspaper.

Anyone wanting copies of this week's (June 29, 2011) edition can either pick them up at our newsstands (until they are replaced by next week's edition), drop by the Tribune office (where we have some back editions) or send a check for $2.50 to: Decatur Tribune, P. O. Box 1490, Decatur, IL 62525-1490.  The reason we have to charge $2.50 is we have to mail them in a manila envelope and the postage is much higher than the normal postage when all of the Tribs go out on Wednesday.  They should be sure to specify they want the June 29th edition with the MacArthur reunion photo page in it.

We talked about Elam's, the page and the class reunion as part of my weekly "City Hall Insider" hour on the Byers & Co. show over WSOY Thursday morning (June 30, 2011).

Unable to attend the reunion but want a copy of the 100-page long Mac 1965 Reunion and Directory Book?  Pick up extras for yourself or a relative of a graduate. Supplies are limited. Order it today, by using PayPal [ to LorenColeman@maine.rr.com ] or sending a check to Loren Coleman, PO Box 360, Portland, ME 04112.  The cost is $17.00, for the book, handling, and priority mailing. Thank you for supporting the reunion research project with your corrections and additions! Onward to 2015.

Reunion: Couples and More

Shelia Blankenship and Jim Roppa

Millie McCaddon and Keith Rogers

Hank Billingsley and Sandy Bralley

Rick Livesay and George Slater

Margy High and a red Corvette

Upfront is Lynn Calhoun. In back are Del McCoy, Pat Ryan, Jeff Messmore, Mike Davis, and Al Cowgill