Mass of Christian Burial for Eleanor Hunter will be held at 1:00 p.m. on Wednesday, February 14, 2007 at Good Shepherd Catholic Church in Centerville. Visitation will be from 2:00 to 8:00 p.m. on Tuesday with the family present from 6:00 to 8:00 p.m. and a rosary will be said at 7:00 p.m. at Wass Funeral Home in Centerville. Eleanor Anne (Mahoney) Hunter was born on October 21, 1919 in North Brookfield, Massachusetts to parents Francis Berchmann and Abbie Laura (Rivinious) Mahoney. She was baptized and confirmed in the Catholic faith and was educated in Catholic schools in the Worcester, Massachusetts area where she grew up. Eleanor attended Becker College. When WW II broke out she joined the Navy as a WAVE on October 9, 1942 as a telegrapher. Eleanor was honorably discharged on November 30, 1945, attaining the rank of Chief Petty Officer, one of the first four women to do so. On May 31, 1947 Eleanor married Donald VanOsdol Hunter, Jr., in Rockville, Maryland. They moved to South Dakota in 1950 and farmed for many years just south of Centerville, South Dakota. She was elected the first woman mayor of Centerville and was proud to have served her community. Eleanor was proud of her Irish heritage and many will remember her annual St. Patricks Day parties. In 1974 she assumed the duties of Administrative Assistant to the Dean of the Law School at the University of South Dakota. When Eleanor retired in 1982 she spent the winters in Englewood, Florida with her beloved sister, Marion and maintained her house by the river in the summers for over 20 years. Eleanor spent the last year in Silverdale, Washington with her daughter and family, and passed away peacefully there on February 7, 2007. She will be remembered by those who loved her as a beautiful person who was an extraordinary mother, grandmother, aunt and loyal friend. Eleanor is survived by her three children, Ann Marie, Van, and Michael; seven grandchildren, Chris, Alison, Jenifer, Catie, Alexander, Dash, and Max; five great grandchildren, Cody, Andrew, Nickolas, Liam and Ethan; a nephew, John, a niece, Marilee and all of their families, and finally her dear and treasured friends. Her parents and her dear sister Marion preceded her in death.