John Hall Hunter (better known as Yohanan), 70, passed away on East Wind Community in Tecumseh, MO, on Sunday, September 19, 2021.

John was born July 19, 1951 in Alton, Illinois, to John and Norma Hunter.

John was a Navy Corpsman, and briefly attended university.

The love, and defining work, of his life was East Wind Community, an intentional, Egalitarian community in Tecumseh, MO. He came to East Wind in 1973 and remained a member until his passing.

He was a towering figure in Community: irascible, loving, ferocious, funny, and absolutely dedicated to his vision of what East Wind should be.

Generations of East Winders know the refrain by heart: he believed that East Wind should serve as a “social organization applicable to the rest of the world,” whose responsibility was to provide “food, shelter, clothing, education and medical care” for its citizens. He believed humans should live in association with the planet, and that true wealth was to be found in the woods and waters.

His life and philosophy were chronicled in various media, including stories in “US News and World Report,” “The New York Times” and the documentary, “The Idiocratic Life: Chapter 3.” He was described as a “chain-smoking Yoda” in National Geographic Magazine (“Not Quite Utopia,” 2005).

He was proud of hiking the Ozark Trail (which he described as “Mount Everest”) four times. He loved music, and was the drummer and vocalist for the musical group “Green Man.”

John spent the last seven years of his life alongside Nadir Palatino, acting as a caregiver for his mother, Norma Hunter.

John is survived by his son and daughter-in-law, Cris Hunter and Cherise Stringham of Everett, Washington; and his grandson, John Magnus Hunter.

He was preceded in death by his father, John R. Hunter in 2006, his brother Jeffrey M. Hunter in 2012, his sister Jean Kinsella in 2013, and his mother Norma M. Hunter in 2021.

In accordance with his wishes, he will receive a green burial in the Golden Valley at East Wind Community. Memorials may be made to The Ozark Society at ozarksociety.net.

Clinkingbeard Funeral Home, Gainesville, MO, directors.