Charles E. Hunt, age 85, of Fair Haven died Saturday, March 17, 2012 at Hilltop Care Center in Watkins.

Mass of Christian Burial will be held 10:30 a.m. Wednesday, March 21, 2012 at St. Anne Catholic Church, Kimball with Fr. Thomas Olson as the Celebrant.  Entombment will follow at St. Anne's Catholic Cemetery.  Friends may call from 4-8 p.m. on Tuesday at Dingmann Funeral Care Chapel, Kimball and one hour prior to the service, Wednesday, at the church.  Parish Prayers will be held 5:00 p.m. Tuesday at the funeral home.  Memorials may be made in Charles' memory to the Cancer or Alzheimer's charity of the donor's choice.

Charles Edwin Hunt was born July 7, 1926 in Hutchinson to Carl and Stafney (Turner) Hunt.  After completing the eighth grade, Charles joined his father on the farm until he enlisted in the Army in 1944 and served during World War II.  After his discharge, Charles farmed, attended AG school and played baseball.

On August 26, 1949, Charles married Arlayne Elizabeth Marquardt in Kimball.  They established a home and farmed northwest of Kimball.  In 1957, they moved to St. Nicholas to raise crops, cows and kids.  In 1966, they purchased a farm outside of Fair Haven on Hunt Road and lived there until March of 2010.

In 1967, Charles started his career with C.S. McCrossan Inc.  He drove big "Yukes" dump trucks and performed other various jobs in and around the sand pits until a disabling accident in 1984.

Being very handy, Charles remodeled their farmhouse in Fair Haven; building the cabinets and doing the plumbing and the electrical work himself.  Throughout the years, he assisted in the building of at least six homes for his children.  Charles enjoyed gardening, yard work and woodworking.  He and Arlayne joined talents creating many wooden characters and objects for the delight of their grandchildren.  Charles built the items from her designs which were then painted by Arlayne.  Card playing was another favorite past time for the two of them – as long as he was winning!  Charles loved jigsaw puzzles, word finds and brain twister puzzles; he was able to master them all.

He is survived by his wife of 62 years Arlayne; sons Charles (Laurie), Michael and James (Lori) all of South Haven; daughters Karen Nelson of The Villages, FL, Charlayne (Gary) Stumm of Maple Grove, Rebecca (Rudy) Maurer of Good Thunder, Kathryn (Kurt) Eisenbraun of South Haven and Jacquelyn Sorensen of Osakis; daughter in law Maryln Hunt of South Haven; step sister Fern Hesse of Tallahassee, FL; 28 grandchildren, 28 great grandchildren and 2 great great grandchildren.  He is preceded in death by his parents Carl and Stafney; son Richard; son in law David Nelson; daughter in law Lanette Hunt; and sisters Pearl Gaskill and Stephanie Markwardt.

Pallbearers will be Mike Stumm, Rudy Maurer, David Hunt, Chris Hunt, Jeff Hunt and Preston Fischer.  Honorary pallbearers will be Chuck Hunt, Karl Hunt, Cameron Hunt and Jesse Sorensen.  The St. Anne Choir will provide the music for the service.  Arrangements are entrusted with Dingmann Funeral Care, Kimball.

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