The 1918 Spanish Influenza Pandemic-Colonel Hunter's Wife Grip Victim

From: Oakland Tribune, 23 October 1918, Page 11, Column 1

COLONEL HUNTER'S WIFE GRIP VICTIM

BERKELEY, Oct. 23- Broken with grief over the death of his wife, which occurred yesterday afternoon from influenza, Lieutenant Colonel George B. Hunter, commandant of the School of Military Aeronautics at the University of California, will seem immediate transfer to active service in France to forget his sorrow on the field of battle.

Colonel Hunter left last night with the body of his wife for West Point, where services will be held at the army cemetery at the military academy. Should his request for transfer to France be granted, it is probably that he will not return to Berkeley.

Mrs. Hunter's death occurred at the family home, 1536 Le Roy avenue, after a two weeks' illness of influenza followed by pneumonia. She was 30 years old and was born at Fort Sam Houston, Texas. All of Mrs. Hunter's life was spent in army environment, her father, Major General C. C. Ballou, being a prominent army officer and now in command of the 52d division of American troops in France. Mrs. Hunter was a graduate of Randolph Macon College, Virginia.

Besides her husband, Mrs. Hunter is survived by a son, George Bowditch Hunter Jr., four years old. Her mother, who is at present in Washington, D. C., will meet the body in New York.

Colonel and Mrs. Hunter came to Berkeley a year ago from Washington school has grown [sic] from 460 cadets to the command [sic] of the aviation school. Under Colonel Hunter's direction the school has grown from 400 cadets to more than 1006, taking a place in the lead with other similar training schools in the country.