Counting President Howard W. Hunter as a dear friend and neighbor of 23 years, Jon M. Huntsman had a close relationship with the prophet that has deeply enriched his life, he said in a Church News interview the day of the prophet's death.

Brother Huntsman, a regional representative, lived for many years in the same ward as President Hunter and served for nearly nine years as his stake president. He also had occasion to travel to different parts of the world with the prophet and was one of the speakers at his funeral."There's so much good that could be said about President Hunter," reflected Brother Huntsman. "He was an incredible man with a remarkable, outstanding and broad background and personality. He was a tremendous historian and had a profound understanding of world history, archaeology, geology, and business and economic systems. He was a lawyer, accountant, banker, businessman and financier by profession. And all of this knowledge and these abilities were rolled up as part of a deeply spiritual leader.

"Another incredible trait of President Hunter's was his loyalty. He was absolutely loyal to the Church, to the Savior, to his family and to his friends. His loyalty to those around him is one of the finest elements of greatness that I've ever witnessed. He always found the time to deal with people and situations, even when he was uncomfortable or in pain because of his health. He made sure that others were always put ahead of himself.

"Notwithstanding the president's very spiritual and formal sense of purpose and being, he had a remarkable sense of humor and quick wit that would often manifest itself in delightful ways."

Recounting several of those humorous stories brought a quick smile to Brother Huntsman's face. He told about being together in a foreign country and having been served spoiled meat at a formal dinner in a stately location. The two men each took a bite and thought better of it, hiding the rest of the meat as best they could to be respectful.

Several months later, President Hunter was hospitalized. Seriously ill, he lapsed into a coma. Brother Huntsman and Elder M. Russell Ballard stopped by for a visit. Leaning over the unresponsive prophet's bedside, Brother Huntsman spoke in a rather loud voice:

" `President, I love you very much. I love you so much that I brought some of that good meat we had together, but unfortunately the dogs ate it on the way to the hospital.'

"He broke out in such loud laughter that the nurses down the hall came running into his room, and within a couple of hours he came out of this coma he had been in. The doctors wouldn't say for sure what brought him out of it, but I think he and I both knew that it was just the memory of that horrible meat."

On another occasion, Brother Huntsman, President Hunter and various family members were together in Guatemala City. They decided to take a side trip to Tikal, on the eastern side of Guatemala. They flew into the area, landing on a military airstrip in a dense jungle. From the spot of their landing, they drove to the ancient city of Tikal, an archaeological wonder once completely covered. It had been unearthed and included ancient buildings and mammoth pyramids. President Hunter had visited the site several times previously, Brother Huntsman said.

While the group explored the ruins, three of Brother Huntsman's sons challenged their father to climb with them to the top of the largest pyramid. It was a strenuous 45-minute climb up a precipitous stair-stepped and very steep face.

"I didn't want to seem unsporting to them and let them show me up," said Brother Huntsman, smiling, "so I asked President Hunter if he would excuse us while we climbed this mountain and as he stayed with others in the group.

"The president said, `Oh, Jon, you go off and have a great time with your sons, and I'll see you when you return.' So we climbed the face of this pyramid and scuffed our shoes, ripped our pants and dirtied our shirts. It was actually a somewhat treacherous climb up. You didn't want to look back down if you had any sort of fear of heights.

"When we got toward the top and pulled ourselves up over the last step, there sitting on this big grassy knoll at the top was President Hunter. As soon as he saw our heads emerge he said, `What took you brethren so long to get here?'

"He had known before we even left about this little winding road that went up the backside of the pyramid, and after we had left he and the others had gone up that way and had been waiting for us for probably 20 minutes. We felt like the Tenderfoot Scouts with the wise, experienced Eagle Scout. It was classic President Hunter because he loved adventures himself, and I think he was bound and determined to show us in a fun way that he could keep up with us regardless of his health condition."

Brother Huntsman recalled another occasion just last fall, after President Hunter had moved from his long-time home in his neighborhood to a downtown apartment to be closer to the office. A change in the bishopric in the president's former ward was planned, and Brother Huntsman picked up President Hunter to take him back for the sacrament meeting. He and one of the prophet's assistants helped President Hunter to the stand near the conclusion of the meeting, after President Hunter had been asked to share his sentiments and testimony.

Recalled Brother Huntsman: "He started his comments by saying, `Brethren, I hope the next time you two have to speak that I don't have to help you to the podium.' Everyone chuckled at that. He then went on to share one of the sweetest testimonies of the Savior, talking about the blessings of the gospel in his own life despite the challenges of seriousness illness and adversity, and expressed deep love and appreciation to his long-time friends and neighbors for their many loving acts of kindness through the years. He concluded by bearing a profound testimony of the divinity of the gospel. It was a tender, emotional moment for everyone there as he essentially said his farewell as a ward member. There were tears in everybody's eyes.

"As we helped him back to his seat, we had arrived about halfway there after a few steps when he whispered in my ear, `Just drop me anywhere!' Immediately I broke out laughing, while everyone else in the congregation was still crying. I couldn't help myself. You never knew when the president was going to come up with one of those quips. When he did, it just broke you up."

Brother Huntsman shared other similar lighthearted experiences - and others of a more serious nature - that he and President Hunter shared through the years, noting that being with the prophet was always like a "breath of fresh air."

"He was a dear friend and gifted leader who will be deeply missed," Brother Huntsman said.