J Neil Hunsaker

Neil Hunsaker was born on November 23, 1934, to Oral John and Emma Ree Hunsaker in Honeyville, Utah. He was the oldest of six boys. He attended school in Honeyville through the 8th grade and attended Box Elder High School and graduated in 1953. He started college at Utah State with a football scholarship but quit after the first quarter and went to the local draft board and volunteered for the Army. After the first eight weeks of basic infantry training at Fort Ord California he was shipped to Fort Bliss Texas where he met and married Deone Gillespie. They had five children; baby girl Hunsaker, Kelly, Kathryn, Geneil, and Denine. Deone and Neil later divorced. He met his soul mate Rae on July 3,1985 and they were married on March 22, 1986. They were sealed in the Salt Lake City temple on October 2, 1987.

Neil’s career was with the United States Forest Service. He was a landscape architect designing campgrounds, picnic sites and other recreation facilities. He worked on many National forests in Utah, Idaho, Nevada, and California and finally retiring in Oregon in Aug 1990 with 29 years of service.

His accomplishments began in High School. His Junior year his baseball team won the Region 1 Championship Title and his Senior year he was captain of the football team. In his career one of his accomplishments was he went to Washington DC and was involved in analysis and hearings concerning designation of the Sawtooth Wilderness. He was also a team leader in the study of the Idaho Primitive Area (over one million acres, the largest unroaded area in the United States not designated as Wilderness) for possible inclusion in the National Wilderness System. He was given many awards and letters of accommodation. While working for Lake Tahoe Basin Management Unit he became active in the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints where he served as Ward Clerk, Second Counselor and then First Counselor to the Bishop. He was also ordained to the office of a High Priest. Neil and Rae served an LDS mission on the island of Oahu, HI from Aug 1998 to Feb 2001 where he designed the area they call Temple Beach.

One of his greatest passions was golf. Rae got him started playing golf and he was hooked and very good. When they started spending summers in Star Valley they did not have a Men’s Club so Neil put a charter together and built one. He loved golfing with the many friends he made at Star Valley.

Neil was well respected and loved by those he worked with, his family, and the many friends he golfed with. He was a man of his word and said what he felt needed to be said.

Neil was preceded in death by his wife Rae, his Mother and Father, son Kelly and daughter, four brothers Travis, Paul, Steven and Karl, two grandchildren Sean and Braden.

He is survived by his brother Rick (Kathy) Hunsaker, three daughters Kathryn (Robert) Thomas, Geneil (Fred) Tanner and Denine Sullivan, two stepdaughters Pam (Richard) Beus and Jackie Harvel, six grandchildren Brodie Hunsaker, Tyrell Voeltz, Christopher Gallegos, Kelly (Jamie) Higginson, Kaycie Price, Megan Salgado and 12 great grandchildren.

He is also survived by five step grandsons: Brian Watters, Robert Watters, Don Mallicoat (Candice), Zack Zellner (Ashley) and Zephaniah Zellner and seven great grandchildren

Graveside Services will be held Wednesday August 6, 2025, at 11:00 a.m. at the Valley View Memorial Park and Funeral Home, 4331 W. 4100 S. West Valley, Utah. Friends may visit with family from 10:00 to 10:30 a.m. at the mortuary.