Judge John Hunter

Class of 1969
Career Pathway: Human Services

John Hunter was his GHS class valedictorian, played football and acted in many plays, including The Diary of Anne Frank, Oliver and Oklahoma. He attended Hillsdale College, where he was a member of Lambda Iota Tau (literary society) and Omicron Delta Kappa (honorary fraternity) and graduated magna cum laude in 1973.

He then graduated from Wayne State University Law School cum laude in December 1976. While in law school, Mr. Hunter worked for the personal recognizance program in Detroit Recorder’s Court. He passed the bar shortly thereafter and was sworn in by Justice Patricia Boyle. He then worked for one and a half years as a law clerk for Damon Keith, Chief Judge of the Eastern District of Michigan's Federal Court, and taught classes at Detroit College of Law.

In 1978, Mr. Hunter and his wife Barbara moved to Grayling, where he was in private practice until 1988 when he was elected probate judge. In 1996, the Michigan Supreme Court appointed him as one of only four judges in the state to sit in a combined circuit/district/probate court. He served as regional president of the Michigan Probate Judges Association and was appointed to numerous committees by the Michigan Supreme Court. Judge Hunter started the teen jury and community liaison officer programs in Grayling.

He has taught in the criminal justice program at Kirtland Community College, coached a Grayling Redskins team and served on the program's executive board, was a member of Trout Unlimited and served on its local board of directors and on the state council, is a past president of the Grayling Youth Booster Club, served on the Grayling Fair and Hanson Hills boards and was a member of the Rotary, Knights of Columbus and Eagles Clubs.

He has three sons: Andrew graduated from Interlochen Arts Academy in 1997 after two years at GHS, Colin graduated from GHS in 1999, and Eric graduated from GHS in 2003. John’s mother, Eleanor Gorman Hunter, three sisters, one brother and numerous nieces and nephews are also GHS graduates.