Joseph Wesley Hunter II was born in East St. Louis, Illinois on September 17, 1962, one of eight children born to Joseph Wesley and Doris (Cates) Hunter. He graduated from Jersey Community High School in 1980, and joined the United States Army in 1985, serving overseas in Korea and Germany. While stationed in Korea he met and married his wife, Hae Kyong on January 16, 1987.
Joe began his aviation career in the United States Army as an Air Traffic Control Systems Technician. He was honorably discharged in 1995; he was immediately hired by the Department of Army as a civilian Air Traffic Control Systems Technician at Fort Belvoir, Virginia. He was responsible for the installation and maintenance of Instrument Landing Systems (ILS) and Surveillance and Beacon Radar systems.
In 2001 he was hired by the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) as a Navigational Aids and Communications (NAVCOM) Airway Transportation Systems Specialist (ATSS) at Washington Reagan (DCA) International Airport Traffic Control Tower (ATCT). He was responsible for the maintenance and certification of the Instrument Landing Systems (ILS) and Communications systems used for Air Traffic Control. In 2005, he was promoted to a National Airspace System Area Specialist (NAS) at the Potomac Consolidated (PCT) Terminal Approach Control (TRACON) System Operations Center (SOC) in Warrenton, Va. He was responsible for the oversight, restoration, and coordination of all systems and services used for Air Traffic Control in the greater Washington DC area. He was directly responsible for ensuring the availability and reliability of the National Airspace System (NAS) and safety to the flying public. Joe was respected and admired by his coworker and customers and was continuous recognized for his commitment, dedication and performance.
His family, friends, co-worker, and the aviation community lost Joe on June 4, 2007 after a long struggle with cancer. He is survived by his wife Hae Kyong "Julie" Hunter and their two children Joseph Wesley Hunter III and John Jasper Hunter; his mother and step father, Doris & Raymond Thompson; six sisters and brothers-in-law, LeDonna & Kenny Johnson, Dorothy & Darrell Talley, Norma & Ned Pinkerton, Cheryl & John Hamel, Yvonne & Richard Harp, Carol & Tim Dougherty; a brother Wesley Hunter; two half-sisters Jean Wagner and Jodi Bietrich; and numerous nieces and nephews. He was preceded in death by his father Joseph Wesley Hunter and his grandparents Ralph & Norma Cates and Wesley & Dorothy Hunter. He was a loving husband, father, son, brother, and friend. Joe you will be missed. May you rest in peace.