By 
A FORMER teacher at Omagh Technical College and St Ciaran’s College in Ballygawley has been remembered as a man with a remarkable gift for fixing things.
Jim Hunt of Arleston Road, Omagh, passed away on October 28 at Hillcrest Nursing Home, aged 93. Born at Fairmount Avenue in the Gallows Hill area of Omagh, Jim relocated as a toddler to Killyclogher. He was married to his wife Una for 60 years. Their marriage, said parish priest Fr Kevin McElhennon at Requiem Mass in St Mary’s, Killyclogher, was ‘faithful, generous and enduring’.
Fr McElhennon told mourners that the Hunt home had been ‘filled with steadfast love’,and that Jim was a man who shaped the generations that followed him.
Life changed dramatically for Jim in his early teens.
When his father died, the 14-year-old was forced to leave school to help support his family. It was then that his talent for mending and creating began to flourish.
He had, Fr McElhennon said, ‘a gift for getting things to work’ – rom bicycles and engines to solar panels and even football boots.
He was fascinated by how things fitted together, a reflection, the priest added, ‘of a hopeful spirit’.
“Jim used technical skill, patience and encouragement throughout his career as a teacher,” Fr McElhennon said. “He took pride in helping young people and was always on a path of exploration. The sense of adventure never left him.
“Even at the age of 83, he travelled to Carrickmore for a microlight lesson. Jim was always unafraid to try something new.”
Mourners also heard how Jim’s courage and compassion shone through during one of Omagh’s darkest days.
On August 15, 1998, the day of the Omagh bombing, he ran towards the devastation to help those caught up in the atrocity.
“While others may have run away, Jim ran into it, searching and helping,” Fr McElhennon said. “He stayed until others were safe. He did not boast about it, but those who saw him that day knew they were looking at a good and caring man… true and steady.”
Many who attended Jim’s wake had the privilege to see his book. In 2002, he recorded his own lifetime stories, stating in his opening paragraph that he intended to live to at least 95. He almost made it.
Jim is survived by his wife Una, and by his children Peter (Angie), Anne Connolly (Shaun) and Kieran (Janet).
He was the son of the late Michael and Margaret, and the eldest brother of Peter and the late Honora (McShea), Raymond, Connie (Martin), Patrick, Denis and infants Niall and Eamonn.
