George Nelson Hunt III (December 6, 1931 – October 23, 2022) was the Episcopal Bishop of

Rhode Island Rhode Island (, like ''road'') is a U.S. state, state in the New England region of the Northeastern United States. It is the List of U.S. states by area, smallest U.S. state by area and the List of states and territories of the United States ...

from 1980 to 1994.''Marquis Who's Who, 2013''

Early life, education and family

The son of George Nelson Hunt Jr. and Jessie Mae Alter Hunt, Hunt was born in

Louisville, Kentucky Louisville ( , , ) is the largest city in the Commonwealth of Kentucky and the 28th most-populous city in the United States. Louisville is the historical seat and, since 2003, the nominal seat of Jefferson County, on the Indiana border ...

, and attended the

University of the South The University of the South, familiarly known as Sewanee (), is a private Episcopal liberal arts college in Sewanee, Tennessee. It is owned by 28 southern dioceses of the Episcopal Church, and its School of Theology is an official seminary of ...

, at

Sewanee, Tennessee Sewanee () is a census-designated place (CDP) in Franklin County, Tennessee, United States. The population was 2,535 at the 2020 census. It is part of the Tullahoma, Tennessee Micropolitan Statistical Area. Sewanee is best known as the home of ...

, where he was awarded a

B.A. Bachelor of arts (BA or AB; from the Latin ', ', or ') is a bachelor's degree awarded for an undergraduate program in the arts, or, in some cases, other disciplines. A Bachelor of Arts degree course is generally completed in three or four years ...

in 1953. He went on to the

Virginia Theological Seminary Virginia Theological Seminary (VTS), formally called the Protestant Episcopal Theological Seminary in Virginia, located at 3737 Seminary Road in Alexandria, Virginia is the largest and second oldest accredited Episcopal seminary in the Unit ...

Alexandria, Virginia Alexandria is an independent city (United States), independent city in the northern region of the Commonwealth (U.S. state), Commonwealth of Virginia, United States. It lies on the western bank of the Potomac River approximately south of Downto ...

, where he earned his

M.Div. For graduate-level theological institutions, the Master of Divinity (MDiv, ''magister divinitatis'' in Latin) is the first professional degree of the pastoral profession in North America. It is the most common academic degree in seminaries and di ...

degree and was ordained to the ministry in 1956. He received the degree of

Doctor of Divinity A Doctor of Divinity (D.D. or DDiv; la, Doctor Divinitatis) is the holder of an advanced academic degree in divinity. In the United Kingdom, it is considered an advanced doctoral degree. At the University of Oxford, doctors of divinity are ran ...

from

Yale University Yale University is a private research university in New Haven, Connecticut. Established in 1701 as the Collegiate School, it is the third-oldest institution of higher education in the United States and among the most prestigious in the wo ...

in 1980 and the

University of Rhode Island The University of Rhode Island (URI) is a public land-grant research university with its main campus in Kingston, Rhode Island, United States. It is the flagship public research as well as the land-grant university of the state of Rhode Island ...

awarded him an honorary

L.H.D. The degree of Doctor of Humane Letters (; DHumLitt; DHL; or LHD) is an honorary degree awarded to those who have distinguished themselves through humanitarian and philanthropic contributions to society. The criteria for awarding the degree differ ...

in 1995. In June 1955, he married Barbara Noel Plamp, with whom he had three children.

Career

In 1956, he was appointed vicar of Holy Trinity Church in

Gillette, Wyoming Gillette (, '' jih-LET'') is a city in and the county seat of Campbell County, Wyoming, United States. The town was founded in 1891 as a major railway town on the Chicago, Burlington and Quincy Railroad. The population was estimated at 32,030 a ...

and in 1957, additionally, he became a priest in charge of St. John's Church in

Upton, Wyoming Upton is a town in Weston County, Wyoming, United States. The population was 898 at the 2020 census. The slogan of the town is: "The best town on earth". Geography Upton is located at (44.103354, –104.625943). According to the United States ...

, adding in 1959 the additional responsibilities of the priest in charge of St. Francis Church,

Wright, Wyoming Wright is a town in Campbell County, Wyoming, United States. The population was 1,807 at the 2010 census. History Ten thousand years ago, the first people came to the high plains to hunt buffalo and antelope. In more recent times, the Sioux a ...

. In 1960, he was appointed assistant priest at St. Paul's Church in

Oakland, California Oakland is the largest city and the county seat of Alameda County, California, United States. A major West Coast of the United States, West Coast port, Oakland is the largest city in the East Bay region of the San Francisco Bay Area, the third ...

and was in that post, when in 1962 he was called to be rector of St. Alban's Church,

Worland, Wyoming Worland is a city in Washakie County, Wyoming, United States. The population was 5,487 at the 2010 census. It is the county seat of Washakie County. It is located within the Big Horn Basin and along the Big Horn River in northwestern Wyoming. ...

. Remaining there until 1965, he then became rector of St Anselm's Church in

Lafayette, California Lafayette (formerly La Fayette) is a city in Contra Costa County, California, United States. As of 2020, the city's population was 25,391. It was named after the Marquis de Lafayette, a French military officer of the American Revolutionary War. ...

and in 1970, rector of St. Paul's Church,

Salinas, California Salinas (; Spanish for "Salt Marsh or Salt Flats") is a city in California and the county seat of Monterey County. With a population of 163,542 in the 2020 Census, Salinas is the most populous city in Monterey County. Salinas is an urban area lo ...

. From 1975 to 1980, he served as executive officer of the Episcopal Diocese of California before being consecrated in 1980 as bishop of the

Episcopal Diocese of Rhode Island The Episcopal Diocese of Rhode Island is a diocese of the Episcopal Church in the United States of America, encompassing the state of Rhode Island. It is one of seven New England dioceses that make up Province 1. The former Episcopal seat of the ...

. In 1994, he left Rhode Island to serve as interim bishop of the

Episcopal Diocese of Hawaii The Episcopal Diocese of Hawai'i is the ecclesiastical territory or diocese of the Episcopal Church of the Anglican Communion in the United States encompassing the state of Hawaii. It is led by the Episcopal Bishop of Hawaii pastoring the Hawaii ...

until his retirement in 1996."Bishop Hunt Consecrated"
''The Living Church'', New York, 8 June 1980. Retrieved on 21 January 2019.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Hunt, George N. III 1931 births 2022 deaths Religious leaders from Louisville, Kentucky American Episcopalians American Episcopal priests Sewanee: The University of the South alumni University of Rhode Island alumni Virginia Theological Seminary alumni Episcopal bishops of Rhode Island