Arlene Edwina Hunter (Age 83)
The family of Arlene Edwina (nee Blank) Hunter would like to share that she died peacefully early in the morning on February 26, 2025 (28 Shevat 5785), while being supported by the Palliative Care team at Virginia Hospital Center in Arlington, VA, her home for the past 60 years.
Arlene was a native of Wakefield, MA, born to Harold Gershon Blank and Josephine Lillian (Spero) Blank on May 7, 1941. A superb student and pianist (like her mother), following graduation with honors from Wakefield (MA) Memorial High School, Arlene attended the University of Massachusetts Amherst, and then completed her education at a secretarial college in Boston. She subsequently moved to El Segundo, CA, where she worked for General Motor’s AC Sparkplug Company. She met and soon married Vancouver, BC native James R.J. Hunter in October 1962, and they had two children (1963, 1967) during their marriage, which ended in divorce.
Arlene was a beloved Suzuki method piano teacher for many students in Arlington and the broader Northern Virginia region, and was active with the Suzuki Association of the Greater Washington (DC) Area until her retirement. She also sang for a number of years with the Temple Rodef Shalom choir, where the family worshipped. She was a loving grandmother to her granddaughters, a many years-long carer to multiple Shetland sheepdogs, and she relished in the successes of her children and grandchildren as they became adults and moved into their careers. Following her retirement from teaching post the Covid shutdown, she sadly wrestled with increased illness and disability.
Arlene was predeceased by her parents and her brother, Howard Blank. She leaves behind her children, Dr. Scott J. Hunter of Chicago, IL and Stacy Hunter Rey of Ellicott City, MD, her son-in-law James Rey, her granddaughters Isabela and Natalie Rey, and her sister-in-law, Eliane Blank, and nephew Jason Blank and his family in College Station, TX. She further leaves several cousins and their families, with whom she has remained close over the years, as well as friends and good neighbors from her time as an Arlingtonian; and of course, her former students and their families.
Those wishing to honor Arlene are requested to make a donation in her name to the Animal Welfare League of Arlington (VA) or their local Humane Society as desired. Her son sat shiva in her memory at his home in Chicago, and the family will hold a private memorial for her later in 2025.
