Don Hunstein

SHARON — Don Hunstein, 88, husband of DeeAnne for more than 50 years, died peacefully at home on March 18, 2017, after a long struggle with Alzheimer’s disease. 

Don was born in St. Louis, Mo., in 1928 and graduated from Washington University with a BA in English.

Original co-operators in St. Martin’s Tower in New York City since 1971, DeeAnne and Don moved into St. Martin’s with their two children, Peter and Christina, who were 3 and 2.

They have been part-time residents of Sharon since 1971.

Don was a lifelong photographer, whose interest in photography was piqued when he was serving in the Air Force, stationed outside London during the Korean War. He bought a Leica at the PX and followed his idol, Henri Cartier-Bresson, as a street photographer recording postwar London. 

After he got out of the service he moved to New York City and got a job as a photographer’s assistant, while continuing his street photography for a book on New York City that was published by Hamlyn, a British publisher. 

Don shared an interest in art and design and photography with those around him, and especially his family. His daughter became an art student and later a jeweler. 

He was always humble about his opinions, but he expressed reverence for the creative process and for other artists as well.

He frequented New York’s museum shows and gallery exhibits, and even enjoyed wandering the Canal Street area of New York City, where he found joy in plastic prop shops and art stores. There he would find inspiration for his experiments in studio still lifes that took place in his photo studio. 

During quieter times he enjoyed sipping single malt Scotch whiskey, listening to jazz albums or Garrison Keillor, and cracking peanuts by the wood stove at his weekend home in  Sharon. 

He would also enjoy sitting quietly, studying maps and railroad timetables from a past era, a product of his Midwestern upbringing. For years he was a member of the Illinois Traction Society, a group dedicated to preserving the history of a small Midwest rail line. His father worked for years for the railroad and he always had free rail travel, which he took advantage of as he roamed the Midwest observing and photographing the land and its culture. 

In all, his aspirations were humble, and his sense of humor wry and understated. Those who knew him personally and professionally would always have a smile and sweet spot for Don, who endeared himself to people easily and whom he would set immediately at ease. That nature was the root of his strength as a photographer and warmth as a person. 

His was a gentle soul who will be truly missed.

Sharing his life for 50 years and managing his photo archives is his wife DeeAnne, former singer and teacher and mother of Peter and Christina Hunstein, and grandmother of Otto Hunstein and Summer and Reese Sorensen.

Go to his website at www.DonHunstein.com for a sampling of his work.

A celebration of his life and career will be held in early May open to everyone.