John Howard Hunter, owner of Hunter’s Farm & Market in Cinnaminson, died on Aug. 3 at the age of 77.
With the tragic loss of their patriarch last week, brother and sister John and Amy Hunter Zorn have essentially hit the fields and farmer’s markets – just as John Howard Hunter would have wanted.
The 77-year-old suffered fatal injuries as a result of a machinery accident on Aug. 3. Police, fire and medical responders were dispatched to his Cinnaminson farm on Union Landing Road at about 10:16 a.m., according to a release from township police.
The department announced three days later that its investigation pointed to an accidental death. To respect the family’s privacy, no further information was provided.
Hunter was a lifelong township resident who passed suddenly doing what he loved, working on the family farm, according to his obituary. The Palmyra High School graduate was born in 1948 to Marjorie and Russell H. Hunter and lived his entire life on the farm. Love for his family and friends was most important, and he shared his passion for the outdoors and farming knowledge with his children and grandchildren.
Hunter ensured that Hunter’s Farm and its market were preserved, and the family will continue to operate the business for generations to come. John and Amy, who are eighth-generation farmers, discussed their father and farm in an emotional video the day after the accident. It has garnered close to 18,000 views.
“Unfortunately there’s a small club in New Jersey locally that has been through something like this with a bad accident,” John noted. “I reached out to them and it means the world to me and they know who they are.
“It’s an unfortunate club to be a part of now,” he added, “because what we do is very dangerous … We work hard, we put a lot of ourselves in situations that aren’t great … Most of us grew up on the farm; we love it.
“We don’t do it for the money, we do it because it’s what we do.”
“It’s a dangerous way of life (where) a million things could go wrong here at any given moment,” Amy acknowledged, referring to the accident that took her father. “And it did yesterday … It was exactly that. It was a split-second decision that was no one’s fault. Just a tragic accident.”
John and Amy say they’re grateful to the local farming community that has stepped up for the family and business, which is in its peak season of selling crops.
“‘John we will clean you out, we will take that burden off your hands,'” said supporters, according to John. “We’re really grateful to a bunch of different buyers and farmers that have offered that.”
The night after his father’s tragic accident, John was irrigating to get ready for the next day.
“It’s just numb,” John shared of the ordeal’s effects. “Not that it didn’t sink in, but we know what needs to get done and we know to honor my father. We’re going to get it done and things are not going to lack.”
Amy said she has never been prouder to be part of the farming community in Burlington County and New Jersey.
“I’ve had two farm markets that were really close friends come in here,” she recounted, “and they took truck loads out of here today and they are going to sell everything they need to sell, no questions asked.
“You can’t ask for anything more than that.”
Amy noted it’s all about family and the business.
“Right now, we need to concentrate on the business of harvesting crops and making sure we’re doing what my dad would have wanted us to do,” she observed, adding there are many continuing the family’s legacy of more than 260 years.
Hunter’s Farm & Market is a seasonal wholesale and retail business that runs from May to the day before Thanksgiving. Generations of Hunters have owned and operated it since 1760, specializing in sweet corn, sweet potatoes and yams on its 120 acres.
Following Hunter’s death, state Sen. Troy Singleton and the county commissioners released statements.
“The Burlington County Board of Commissioners are shocked and saddened by the sudden, tragic loss of John Howard Hunter of the Hunter’s Farm in Cinnaminson,” its statement read. “In a county with a long and proud agricultural history, Mr. Hunter was an icon.”
“Mr. Hunter dedicated his life to growing and harvesting fresh, healthy foods for local communities and families,” Singleton noted.
Hunter truly loved his work and devoted himself to the craft of farming vegetables and fruits sustainably to ensure the ongoing viability of Hunter’s Farm for generations. He was a long-standing member of many organizations committed to supporting farming in the state, including the New Jersey Farm Bureau and the former Cooperative Growers Association in Tabernacle.
Hunter was named the 2003 New Jersey Vegetable Grower of the Year and received the Burlington County Farm Stewardship Award for Farmland Preservation, according to his obituary. He was a long-active member of the Cross Keys Gun Club and a lifelong outdoorsman with a passion for hunting and fishing. Hunter and his late wife, Barbara, shared a love for Tarpon fishing.
Hunter is survived by his children, Amy L. Zorn and her husband, Michael; John R. Hunter and his wife, Holly; his grandchildren, Cole, Jake and Hailee Hunter; his nephews, Lee Blackman and Todd (Deborah) Blackman; and his niece, Beth Blackman; along with many extended family members, his companion, Loretta Zorn, and many close, lifelong friends.
A viewing will be held for family members and close friends on Aug. 11 at Weber Funeral Home in Riverton. Funeral services and burial were held privately.
In lieu of flowers or other expressions of sympathy, the family has requested donations to the John H. Hunter Memorial Scholarship Fund, in care of Amy Zorn, 1101 Union Landing Road, Cinnaminson 08077. Remembrances and condolences may be shared with his family through the online guestbook available at www.weberfunerlhomeinc.com
