Geneva Hunter, a poor small-town Tennessee girl, was recruited out of high school to work for the Federal Bureau of Investigations.
She started out as a file clerk and eventually became the file clerks' supervisor. She was an FBI employee for several years and only stopped after she married William "Bill" Charles Hunter III, her husband of 54 years.
Mr. Hunter was a career sailor who'd earned the Cold War Certificate for his service. He wanted his wife to receive one, too, and last year submitted her civilian service record to the U.S. Department of Defense for consideration.
Anyone who served honorably on active duty, the National Guard, Reserve or as a federal defense employee from Sept. 2, 1945 to Dec. 26, 1991, are eligible for the recognition, according to usmilitary.about.com.
Mrs. Hunter, a six-year FBI worker, received her honor last year.
"It is unusual to have a woman get it, and she was proud of it," said Mr. Hunter, who has helped other people in the community file paperwork for the certificate. "These recipients were essential to the efforts of the Cold War."
On Wednesday, Geneva Ferguson Hunter died from complications of Alzheimer's disease, dementia and related illnesses at the Veranda, an assisted living facility in Roswell. She was 80. A memorial will be held at 2 p.m. Thursday at Fort Hill Cemetery in Auburn, N.Y. Roswell Funeral Home Green Lawn Cemetery handled arrangements.
In 1956, Mr. Hunter met his future wife while he was stationed in Washington, D.C. They married two weeks later, spent three years in Paris where he was assigned, then returned to the United States. She'd enjoyed the time she spent with the FBI, but devoted herself to being a wife and mother during Mr. Hunter's 20-year military career, which took them to Utica, N.Y., and Jacksonville.
"She was a wonderful woman and never did anything wrong," her husband said. "When I went out to sea, she took care of two boys, mowed the grass and painted the rooms in our house."
In 2002, the couple moved to Roswell and eventually moved to Freedom Pointe until Mrs. Hunter's health worsened. There, Mr. Hunter helped others submit paperwork for the Cold War recognition.
Mrs. Hunter had an autographed photo of FBI Director J. Edgar Hoover and a letter that thanks her for her service. Veda Ferguson Collins, a sister in Loudon, Tenn., also was a high school FBI recruit. She was hired to assist field agents.
"The FBI would interview the top 5 or 10 percent of the class and then we took special tests," she said. "There were a lot of young girls going to Washington at that time." It was a totally new experience for us, and we loved Washington, D.C."
Additional survivors include sons, William Charles "Chuck" Hunter IV of Lilburn and Ricky Lee Hunter of Roswell; brothers, John Ferguson of Southgate, Mich., and Coleman R. Ferguson of Tulsa, Okla.; and three grandchildren.
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