Joseph E. Hunt, III

Joseph E. Hunt III, 70, of Tampa, Florida, died on September 6, 2026. He was born on August 23, 1956, in Tulsa, Oklahoma, and was raised by his grandparents on a small farm in Salina, Oklahoma. His childhood was not an easy one. He grew up with very little, and those early years left their mark. Joe developed independence and determination early in life, along with a persistent sense that he had something to prove. He carried those qualities with him throughout his life, and they shaped both his achievements and his struggles.

After graduating from high school, Joe received an appointment to the United States Military Academy at West Point. He graduated in 1978 and was commissioned as a field artillery officer in the United States Army. He completed Airborne and Ranger schools and served with distinction for seven years, including in Germany, where he commanded a U.S. Army tank company equipped with M60 tanks and patrolled along the Austrian-Czechoslovak border. During those years, he developed a fascination with Eastern Europe and dreamed of one day traveling through the places that then lay just beyond the Iron Curtain.

Joe eventually got that opportunity, though it took several decades. Later in life, he moved to Prague, Czech Republic, where he lived for nearly a decade. He loved the country's history and culture, spoke several languages, and brought his business experience and gift for connecting with people to his work as an English teacher. Many of his students became more than clients; they became friends, neighbors, and part of his life in Prague. Joe traveled widely through Europe, especially Central and Eastern Europe, finally reaching places that had once been visible to him only from the other side of the Iron Curtain.

For all that he loved about Prague, Joe never developed an appreciation for its winters. The cold weather was one reason he ultimately chose to make his home in Florida rather than move to New England or Oklahoma to be closer to his grandchildren. In Tampa, he met Yoshimi "Sugi" Sugimoto, and they married in December 2019. They loved one another, and Sugi became the central presence in Joe's final years. She cared for him with patience and devotion, especially as his health declined, and brought companionship, steadiness, and love to the last chapter of his life. Joe enjoyed the Florida life he had chosen, the warm weather and sunshine, time at the beach, rounds of golf, and following the sports teams he had come to call his own. He remained a devoted Oklahoma Sooners fan, while also becoming a fan of Tampa's Buccaneers and Rays.

Joe's life took him a long way from the small farm in Salina where it began. From Oklahoma to West Point, from Army patrols along the Iron Curtain to a life in Prague, and eventually to Florida, he followed a path that was very much his own. He accomplished a great deal, stumbled along the way, and kept moving forward. He was not a simple man, and his life had its share of difficulty, for him and for those who loved him. Still, he left his mark on his children, in ways both good and difficult, and his influence will continue through them and his grandchildren.

Joe is survived by his wife, Yoshimi "Sugi" Sugimoto; his son, Joseph E. Hunt IV (MaryKate) of Medfield, Massachusetts; his daughter, Kathleen Brown (Bobby) of Broken Arrow, Oklahoma; five grandchildren; and his sisters, Gypsy Fess and Kim Hunt.

Joe is being cremated in the care of Cremations of Greater Tampa Bay. In accordance with his final wishes, his ashes will ultimately be interred at Graham Memorial Cemetery in Pryor, Oklahoma, near the grandparents who raised him.

The family wishes to thank the doctors and nurses at St. Joseph's Hospital who cared for Joe during his final years and provided him with compassion and care.

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