Cancer claims Paul Hunsader: Farmer, family man, philanthropist

BRADENTON -- All this week, hundreds of people made their way to Paul Hunsader's home on 10th Avenue Drive West, Bradenton, to tell the ailing 83-year-old former East Manatee commercial tomato farmer, philanthropist and champion of the poor how much they loved him, said his wife, Jan Hunsader.

With family surrounding his bed at 3:58 a.m. Friday, Mr. Hunsader, who started Hunsader Brothers in 1967 on County Road 675 and later passed the baton to his nephews who changed its name to Hunsader Farms, died peacefully of the prostate cancer he waged a 16-year battle against.

The cancer later spread to his vertebra and compressed his spinal cord leaving him paralyzed from the waist down, his wife said.

"It hurts without him and I miss him," Jan Hunsader said of the husband she married in 1960 after the two met in their hometown hangout in Manitowoc, Wis., when he was 26 and she was 21. "But I am also happy for him. He told me he was ready to go. He had done everything in life he wanted. His mission was complete. He didn't fear death."

She said her husband had a great personality, was happy and positive.

"He worked hard and was a joy to be around," Jan Hunsader said. "I was in love with him from the beginning."

Mr. Hunsader was under hospice care and died at home without pain, his wife said. With Mr. Hunsader at his moment of death were sons, Steven and Peter Hunsader; daughter, Cindy Parry, and her husband, Tom Parry; wife, Jan; and his nephew Joe's son, Matt Hunsader. A third son, Eric, did not make it from Chicago in time but will attend his father's Celebration of Life service at 10 a.m. Saturday at St. Joseph's Catholic Church, 3100 26th St. W., Bradenton. People can attend visitation at 9 a.m. Saturday in the chapel of the church.

Mr. Hunsader's body will be cremated, his wife said.

Mr. Hunsader served in the U.S. Army from 1952-54, but, as the ninth of 10 children of dairy farmers Henry and Barbara Hunsader -- only two children survive now -- he was destined to come back to the farm, his wife said.

In 1967, however, Mr. Hunsader and two brothers, Robert and Donald, who have both died, came to Florida to grow tomatoes as a corporation they would call Hunsader Bros.

People laughed at the brothers thinking they would not be able to turn the sandy soil in Manatee County into anything green and they would end up back on the dairy farm in a season or two, Jan Hunsader said.

For 23 years, working hard to prepare the fields, Hunsader Brothers grew and Mr. Hunsader was able to retire in 1990, his wife said. Four sons of the three Hunsader brothers took over the business and renamed it Hunsader Farms, which still grows produce and is well known for its annual Pumpkin Festival.

Although the Hunsader Brothers put the family on the Manatee County map, Paul Hunsader's legacy isn't the business as much as what he did after he retired, his wife and others said.

Mr. Hunsader became involved in feeding the needy and giving away his collection of treasures, much purchased at garage sales, to people of all walks of life.

"He would come to our packing house and collect tomatoes for kitchens for the poor," Bob Spencer of West Coast Tomato said. "He was a great person. He was loved by many in this county for his giving personality."

Mr. Hunsader's son, Steve, who lives in California, recalled Saturday his father was known as "the garage sale guy" because he had 20 of everything and would give it to anyone who needed it.

"If someone needed a watch, my dad had a bag filled with watches," Steve Hunsader said. "He would buy them in garage sales then take them to a jewelry store to get them fixed."

Mr. Hunsader also became involved with Our Daily Bread soup kitchen for the needy and gained permission from farmers to go into fields for cabbages and other produce for Our Daily Bread. Farmers also let him take onions and West Coast Tomato let him take tomatoes.

Mr. Hunsader also had a passion for his church, St. Joseph Catholic, becoming involved in church renovations, singing and playing a mean game of table tennis against all comers in the church activity center, his wife said.

"Paul and I also traveled extensively all over the world," Jan Hunsader said. "He had a passion for travel. He was a very, very compassionate, caring individual. He had friends from all walks of life. They loved him."

Richard Dymond, Herald reporter, can be reached at 941-745-7072 or contact him via Twitter@RichardDymond.

This story was originally published November 7, 2015 at 12:00 AM with the headline "Cancer claims Paul Hunsader: Farmer, family man, philanthropist ."