Obituary of Margaret McLeod Hunter

Margaret McLeod Hunter, 96, of Sumter, SC, passed away February 10, 2021, after a brief illness. Beloved wife of the late Samuel Marvin Hunter, Jr., Margaret was the daughter of the late Robert Lawrence McLeod and Sue Duffie McLeod. She was born in Sumter, SC on September 17, 1924, at her parent’s home on Park Avenue. She graduated from Sumter High School in 1941.She attended Converse College and graduated with a Bachelor of Arts from the University of South Carolina in 1945. She met her future husband, Sam, at a Sumter High – Greenville High football game, in which her brother Bob McLeod was a star halfback. Dad said he was mesmerized by her beauty and her smile, and it was love at first sight on that chilly Friday night. They began a lifelong romance that lasted through sixty-five years of marriage, thin and flush, sadness and joy. Mostly flush, mostly joy. They married in December 1946, and moved to Atlanta, GA, while Sam was completing his degrees at the Georgia Institute of Technology. Sam studied hard, and Margaret worked hard in the President’s Administration offices of Tech. Sam’s classmates awarded Margaret the degree of "Mistress of Patience in Husband Engineering,” which always brought a big smile to her face when she told her children and grandchildren. Sam and Margaret lived in Wilmington, NC and Columbia, SC, and various construction job locations, before settling in Sumter, SC, where they raised their family, and wove their positive magic into the fabric of their beloved hometown. Margaret was an active member of First Presbyterian Church in Sumter, where she and Sam were married, serving as Deacon, as well as Elder. She was honored with the title of Elder Emeritus. She served as President and was active for fifty-plus years with the Women of the Church. She co-founded the “Mary and Martha” committee, which is still active today, serving the grieving as well as the celebrating families of First Presbyterian. For many years, she played the piano for the Children’s Sunday school classes. “Maggie Mac,” was a founding member of Les Coeur Cognes, currently known as LCC. At the University of South Carolina, she was a member of Delta Delta Delta sorority. She served as President of the Sumter Junior Welfare League and was a seventy-year member of the Mother-Daughter Book Club, as well as a variety of community activities. But her priority was always first to her husband, Sam, and then to her four children, grandchildren, and great grandchildren, all of whom she loved perfectly. Each would say they felt like they were her “favorite” because each was. Her smile lit up every room, as well as every heart, and her infectious sense of humor was a delight to her many, many “best friends.” Margaret leaves behind a legacy of love with her four children, Susan Hilton, Sam, III and Dr. Dina Hunter, Sallie and Mark Eisengrein, and Margaret and Joe Outlaw; thirteen grandchildren, John and Page Hilton, Margaret Hilton, Britton and Finch Troxler, Andrew, Brooke and Victoria Grice, Hannah and Josh Leftwich, Gretel and Nathan Stone, Carrie and Captain Atticus Blair, Joseph and Tori Outlaw, Margaret, Samuel, and Caleb Outlaw and seven great-grandchildren, John Hilton IV, Simon, Andrew, Rosemary and Nathan Leftwich, Harper Blair, and Tatum Outlaw. She was predeceased by her husband Sam Hunter, and her brother, Bob McLeod. Graveside services will be held at 2 P.M. Sunday, February 14, 2021 at the Sumter Cemetery In lieu of flowers, please send memorials to First Presbyterian Church, 9 W. Calhoun Street, Sumter, SC 29150. Her family wishes to thank Covenant Place, which provided an excellent home for her, as well as Frances Mack, Mary McKnight and William Keith, for their lifelong friendship and care. The City of Sumter requires masks and social distancing. On-line condolences may be made at www.sumterfunerals.com Elmore Hill McCreight Funeral Home & Crematory, 221 Broad Street, Sumter, is in charge of the arrangements (803) 775-9386.