Legacy of faith, joy and perseverance
CHARLOTTE — Drawn to his joyfulness and deep faith in God, everyone wanted to be around Joe Hunt.
Hunt, the first African American member of the Knights of Columbus in North Carolina, died Feb. 13 aged 87.
Hunt’s son Jeff counts himself particularly blessed to have spent so much time with his father. The two operated 920 Services, a Charlotte-based catering business. The business, a spinoff from Joe Hunt’s longtime bartending venture, is still thriving today.
“His clients would reschedule their party depending on whether he was available or not. Everyone knew they could call my father and not worry about how it would go. He gave the same quality service to everyone. That was just him. He had to do it the right way,” his son recalls.
Friends including Ed Norris, a fellow Knight of Columbus, note they never heard Hunt say an unkind word about anyone, despite the discrimination Hunt initially faced in joining the Knights of Columbus in the segregated South. Instead, Hunt cultivated a deeply personal relationship with God through prayer and the sacraments.
“He was a prayerful man,” Norris says. “He’d say to me, ‘Brother Norris, if you would just wear out the knees in those pants, you’d get more help.’”
Hunt’s zest for life was evident to everyone who met him. The source of his joy was his faith in God, and what fed his soul was the place he most wanted to be: Holy Mass.
Friends, family and fellow Knights flocked to Hunt’s funeral Mass on Feb. 20 at his home parish of Our Lady of Consolation Church in Charlotte, with more tuning in to a livestream on the parish’s YouTube channel because of COVID-19 crowd restrictions.
Deacon Curtiss Todd, a longtime friend at the parish, eulogized Hunt in his homily, noting, “In times of snow, sleet, rain and COVID-19,” Joe was at Mass every Sunday “sitting in the first pew.”
“He knew and recognized that spiritually Jesus was in that sanctuary and on that altar,” Todd said, “and he wanted to be as close as he could to his Lord and Savior.”
Hunt’s faith-filled outlook came from his upbringing, his career in the Army, and his family life in Charlotte.
Joseph Jefferson Hunt Sr. was born June 15, 1933, and raised by his mother and grandparents on their family farm west of Charlotte in Shelby, N.C. The family went to a Southern Baptist church, and he and his brother and two sisters attended a general school where all ages learned together. Before heading off to school each morning, Hunt did chores on the farm, collecting eggs and gathering firewood.
“Most kids don’t understand what went into the making of America,” says Robert L. Douglas Jr., who joined the Knights of Columbus thanks to Hunt’s encouragement. “Joe was what every American should be. He worked hard, served in the military, and was a great husband and father.”
After graduation in 1954, Hunt was drafted into the U.S. Army as a combat engineer and served in Germany as part of the post-World War II rebuilding effort. He then committed to another 10 years in the U.S. Army Reserve. He was honorably discharged and received several medals including ones for National Defense Service, Good Conduct, and Army of Occupation for his tour in Germany.
Hunt’s friends and family say his Army career had a lifelong impact, honing his leadership skills and broadening his appreciation for people from all walks of life.
When Hunt returned home, he took advantage of the G.I. Bill and earned an associate’s degree in business from Carver College in Atlanta, a historically black college with an emphasis on theology. The school choice was one more example of how he kept his faith at the center of his life.
He met a young woman named Mary Barnes and they married in 1958. The next year, they converted to Catholicism – drawn to the faith because of the people at a little Catholic church near their Charlotte home: Our Lady of Consolation. With roots dating back to the 1940s, the parish has celebrated the rich heritage of both Roman Catholicism and African American traditions.
Still a relatively new Catholic in 1962, Hunt befriended Bishop Vincent Waters of Raleigh while serving as his driver. Bishop Waters encouraged Hunt to join the Knights of Columbus. Although the Knights have a long history of advocating for racial equality, including admitting as members African Americans as far back as 1895, integration took much longer in the South.
In 1962 Hunt applied to become a Knight of Columbus in Council 770, the oldest council in North Carolina, established in Charlotte in 1903. Even though the rules allowed men of color, he still faced discrimination and his parish priest refused to sign Hunt’s application. The rejection hurt, but Bishop Waters encouraged Hunt to persist.
The council’s chaplain quietly signed his application instead, and on Nov. 16, 1965, Hunt received his First Degree – becoming the first African American Knight of Columbus in North Carolina. In 1968, Hunt received his Fourth Degree, which includes Knights who wish to live out the fourth principle of patriotism.
Despite the difficulties Hunt faced getting into the Knights of Columbus, his son says far more people were with him than against him. Norris says Hunt “rose above all that,” referring to the discrimination and bigotry Hunt endured during the Jim Crow era.
Hunt’s funeral Mass Feb. 20 at Our Lady of Consolation Church drew fellow Knights of Columbus, friends and family. (Photo provided)Hunt became the Knights’ district marshal, traveling all over North Carolina. “He would drive around with the state deputy, going from the mountains to the coast, to promote the Knights,” says Sergio Miranda, current state treasurer and grand knight of Council 770. “We don’t think that’s unusual today, but a black man and white man driving around from place to place raised some eyebrows in the ’60s and ’70s.”
Hunt was tireless in his efforts to serve the Church and his community as a eucharistic minister, a leader of the parish Men’s Group and as a Boy Scout troop leader – all while caring for his family, including his wife Mary, who suffered serious health problems, and their two children, Cheryle and Jeff. He and Mary celebrated 46 years of marriage before her death in 2004.
The close-knit fraternity and principles of charity and unity promoted by the Knights of Columbus greatly appealed to Hunt. He occupied all of the Knights’ council and assembly roles, including grand knight from 1997 to 1999 – earning the tongue-in-cheek title of “Worthy Past Everything” and winning the North Carolina Golden Knight of the Year Award in 2018.
Though he was honored to receive the recognition, it wasn’t what motivated him. “Accolades are nice, but he didn’t live for those things,” says Jeff, who was knighted by his father when he received his own Fourth Degree.
Hunt lived to serve others, and his talents for cooking and conversation are remembered by all those who knew him.
He especially loved organizing and catering events and fundraisers for the residents of Holy Angels in Belmont, N.C., a home run by the Sisters of Mercy for people with intellectual developmental disabilities and delicate medical conditions.
When he grew too frail to command the kitchen during Holy Angels’ Christmas dinner with Santa, everyone still wanted him there. He was a comfort and an expert for all their questions, but he couldn’t just sit there; he did a little cutting and chopping, too.
“My father didn’t see color, financial or economic status, he just treated everyone the same, and he wanted everyone to feel the same,” says Jeff. “Even after he retired, our clients would say, ‘Bring your father; we just want him there.’ They wanted his presence.”
— Annie Ferguson, correspondent.
Pictured at top: Joe Hunt St. and his son Jeff, both Fourth Degree Knights of Columbus, are pictured at Our Lady of Consolation Church in Charlotte. Joe Hunt, the first African American Knight of Columbus in North Carolina, passed away Feb. 13, 2021. (Photo provided)