Born into an old Savannah, Georgia family, she enjoyed the typical upbringing of a Southern lady. She attended Agnes Scott College, leaving before graduation to marry George Lewis Cope Hunter. Her husband's death in 1936 made it neccessary for her to support herself and her three children, and she went to work for the Savannah Morning News and the Savannah Evening Press. She worked as a reporter, columnist, society page editor, book page editor and editorial writer.

Hunter was over fifty years old at the start of World War II. Wanting to help in the war effort, she used her connections to become a Red Cross Field Director, and was recommended for a Bronze Star when she ret...