Kenneth Poe Funeral Services

August 2, 2026

CHARLOTTE – James Richard Hunter III, known as Jim, passed away peacefully in Charlotte, NC, on Sunday, August 2, 2026, at age 87.

Jim was born in Tallahassee in 1938 and grew up in Miami.  Like his father, he attended the University of Florida, earning a degree in accounting and developing a lifelong devotion to the Florida Gators.  After college, he served as a lieutenant in the U.S. Army at Fort Hamilton in Brooklyn.

In the mid-1960s, as a newly minted CPA, Jim came to Charlotte with Ernst & Ernst (now EY). It didn’t take long for him to discover that he was more interested in building things than sitting behind a desk.  He joined the Robbins brothers, pioneers in tourism and development in Blowing Rock, as CFO of Carolina Caribbean Corporation and helped develop Beech Mountain into a ski resort.

That entrepreneurial spirit stayed with him.  After working with real estate companies in Arizona and South Florida, Jim returned to Charlotte in the mid-1970s.  He and Betty took a leap of faith and started Hunter & Hunter, PA, a CPA practice on South Tryon Street in uptown Charlotte.

The firm grew steadily over the next 25 years, always remaining focused on its clients.  Jim liked to tell the story of their first year: their part-time secretary made more money than they did.  But, he would add, they believed that if they took care of their clients, success would follow.  It did.

Jim and Betty became part of the civic and charitable fabric of a rapidly growing Charlotte. Among their early efforts was helping WFAE, Charlotte’s public radio station, establish its independence.  Their commitment to WFAE continues to this day.  In 2000, Hunter & Hunter merged with Crisp Hughes & Evans, now Forvis Mazars, and Jim retired.

But Jim’s life was about much more than work.

A city boy at heart who preferred loafers to work boots, he took up sailing and kept a boat on Lake Norman for years.  He loved fishing, the South Carolina coast and his homes at Litchfield Beach.  He became a passionate student of NASCAR—not just the racing, but its history and business—and loved attending races at some of the sport’s legendary tracks.

Most of all, Jim loved people and conversation.  He could hold court from his favorite chair for hours, part patriarch and part raconteur, always ready with a story, an opinion or a question.

He understood that a life is built as much from ordinary moments as extraordinary ones.  He drove his daughter to school, taught his son to grill, took his boys on trips to see Major League Baseball, and was there for the countless small moments that, looking back, were not small at all. His children remember the work ethic and sense of humor he gave them.

Betty, his wife and partner in life and business, has another word for what Jim gave his family: integrity.  It was the quality she most admired in him, and it was evident in the way he lived.

Jim also never lost his curiosity.  If anything, his world seemed to grow larger with age.  He remained open to new people and new ideas.  He even embraced the iPad, using it to follow the Gators in the Gainesville Sun, communicate with family and friends, and do a little day trading. A remarkable turnaround for a man who had once adamantly refused to use a personal computer.

There was a certain boldness to Jim: the willingness to start a business with little money and no clients, to try something new, to change course when life called for it, and to keep learning along the way.

He lived a long and full life—with Betty at his side, family around him, work that mattered to him, adventures he enjoyed, and plenty of stories to tell. Those who loved Jim are grateful for the life he shared with them and for the many ways he made it richer.

Jim is survived by his wife, Betty; his children, Robert Blair Hunter, Kathryne Hunter (Chris Kirschner), Rich Barnett (Michael Craig), and Don Barnett (Lisa); daughter-in-law, Heather Barnett; and grandchildren, Thomas Barnett (Kimberly), Zack Barnett, Sarah Barnett, Allie Barnett, Claudia Barnett, and Wesley Barnett.  He was preceded in death by his parents, James Richard and Kathryne Hunter; his first wife; Sally Barnett; his son, Jeffrey Lee Barnett; and his grandson, Harrison Mack Barnett.  

A service and celebration of Jim’s life will be held at 2:00 PM on Saturday, September 26, 2026, at Dilworth United Methodist Church.  The family will receive friends following the service at the church.  The service will be livestreamed through the church’s YouTube (https://www.youtube.com/@DilworthUMC) and Facebook (https://www.facebook.com/Dilworthchurch/) pages for those unable to attend in person.

In lieu of flowers, memorials may be offered in memory of Jim to Dilworth United Methodist Church, Attn: The Well Building Project, 605 East Boulevard, Charlotte, NC 28203 or WFAE 90.7, PO Box 896890, Charlotte, NC 28289.

Arrangements are in the care of Kenneth W. Poe Funeral & Cremation Service, 1321 Berkeley Ave., Charlotte, NC 28204; (704) 641-7606.  Online condolences may be shared at www.kennethpoeservices.com.