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Jim Hunter – Celebration of his Life @ Lighthouse Point
Jim Hunter – Celebration of his Life – Saturday, April 11
Some of you knew Jim Hunter and his wife Courtney, who moved to Woodbury recently and joined the WCBC. Jim had been a serious birder since forever and quickly became a contributing member, attending meetings and reporting unusual sightings, including activity at or near their house for the Christmas and June Bird Counts.
Sadly, Jim Hunter passed away recently – there is to be a celebration of his life on Saturday, April 11, 2026, at 6:00 PM at Lighthouse Point Park in New Haven. Frank Gallo writes: Together, we’ll take a walk, share stories, and honor a truly brilliant biologist, naturalist, birder, and friend. Jim touched so many lives through his knowledge, curiosity, and deep love of the natural world, and it feels only right to gather outside, where he felt most at home. Please come as you are and bring memories and a story to share. Please note that the park closes at dusk and there is plenty of parking.
Frank Gallo also wrote this about Jim: It is with great sadness that I announce the untimely loss of my dear friend Jim Hunter. Jim and I were both students of Noble Proctor’s at Southern Connecticut State University. Jim was a consummate naturalist and spent countless hours in the field studying birds, mushrooms, plants, and most everything else, and we had our share of adventures together.
New Haven Bird Club members will remember Jim first as a student accompanying Noble on Christmas Bird Counts (CBCs) at Lake Saltonstall. After Noble’s death, Jim took-up the reins of captain and ran that area for years. Others may know Jim as a board member of COA, from his time working at the Fairfield Wild Birds Unlimited, or while he was a science teacher at Wilton High School. Many others will know him through his work at Earth Place in Westport where he and Grit Ardwin took students on birding/natural history adventures around the country.
Few get the chance, as Jim did, to touch and positively influence the lives of so many. I’m heartened to know that he made this world a little brighter with his presence, and that his legacy and memory will live on in others…
He will be sorely missed.
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