Richard Lewis Hunt
Richard Lewis Hunt, CPA of Santa Barbara, California, died on January 25th, 2023, at 79 years of age, after 17 years battling prostate cancer. Richard was born in New Jersey on August 18th, 1943 to J. Lewis Hunt and Doris Rita Hunt and moved to North Hollywood, California in 1946. Richard was the second in line of 10 siblings in a large Catholic family and attended Loyola High School and Loyola University in Los Angeles. Although it might surprise some of his tax clients, as a young man Richard built his own hot rod from a Model T and enjoyed riding street legal and offroad motorcycles. His annual family camping and fishing trips instilled in him a love of the outdoors and an appreciation for the natural world that endured throughout his life. As a young man and student, Richard kept busy delivering newspapers, working at a gas station, in a laboratory, at a plant nursery and helping his father add a room to the house in North Hollywood.
In 1965, RIchard met the love of his life, Nina Lázaro, after being set up on a blind date by a roommate. They were married in 1967, and together raised four children, Carlos, Alexander, Jeremy and Jessica. He served in the Army Reserve from 1968-1972. In 1972, Richard and Nina moved their family to Santa Barbara to escape the LA smog.
Richard’s professional career as an accountant spanned 56 years, working with Jarabin, Gaggs and Hunt and in later years Macfarlane, Faletti & Co. LLC. His honesty, reliability, and dedication to others meant that many of his clients and colleagues became lifelong friends. Even though Richard was always the last to leave the office, he found time to have dinner every night with his family during tax season, and to attend his children’s school and sports activities. Richard’s passion for scuba diving began in his 50s and continued to his mid-70s. During the 55 years of their marriage, he and Nina traveled to six continents, and Richard looked forward to diving on these trips. In later years, Richard enjoyed spending time with his grandchildren, who were a good reminder that life isn’t always that serious.
Richard enjoyed his work as an accountant and used his skills and knowledge to help his community and the environment. He volunteered as the treasurer for the Los Padres Chapter of the Sierra Club for 45 years and served as treasurer for the Gaviota Coast Conservancy for 15 years. Richard’s financial expertise with these organizations helped preserve land in the public trust, though he also didn’t mind getting his hands dirty and continued doing highway and beach cleanups until recently. Richard volunteered for Planned Parenthood for many years, serving on the Board of Directors as well as on the Finance Committee. He was also on the Board of Directors of the Arloma Foundation, which is known for providing full scholarships for nurses aides for all the junior colleges in California.
Richard is survived by his wife Nina Hunt; son Alexander Hunt (Danielle) of Oakland, CA; son Jeremy Hunt of Marietta, OH; daughter Jessica Dominguez of Santa Barbara, CA; grandchildren Anders, Marlena and Silvia Hunt, Malcolm Hunt, and Angelica, Tristan and Ethan Dominguez and his siblings Judi, Mary, Rosalie, Virginia, Kathy, Patricia, and Tom; countless nieces and nephews and many friends and colleagues. He was predeceased by his siblings Joan and Bob, and his son Carlos, who passed in 2014. Richard was a rock of stability, calm and kindness for those that knew him, and he will be sorely missed. His dry sense of humor will also be missed.
A celebration of Richard’s life will be held on March 25 at 11:00 a.m. at the MacKenzie Center in MacKenzie Park in Santa Barbara. For more information, please contact Alexander Hunt via email at alexanderhunt@yahoo.com. In lieu of flowers, Richard’s family requests that you please make a donation to the Gaviota Coast Conservancy at https://www.gaviotacoastconservancy.org/donate/.