US trucking pioneer passes away

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LOWELL, ARK. — At 79-years-old, Johnnie Bryan Hunt, Sr. founder of J. B. Hunt Transport Services passed away due to injuries sustained in a fall over the weekend.

It is with sorrow and our deepest sympathy for the Hunt family that we acknowledge the death of Mr. J.B. Hunt, the company said in a statement.

The son of Depression-era sharecroppers from rural Arkansas, the truck driver opened J.B. Hunt Transport for business in 1969. The venture began with five trucks and seven trailers, and today the company employs more than 16,000 employees and operates almost 11,000 trucks and approximately 47,000 trailers and containers.

A staunch supporter in the development of Northwest Arkansas, Hunt was an outspoken ambassador for the growth in the region who put his money where his mouth was by engaging in several projects that dot the Northwest Arkansas landscape and stand as a testimony to his progressive spirit.

Hunt retired from active service to the company in 1995 but remained on the Board of Directors until 2004. After retiring from the Company, Hunt spent the last 11 years pursuing new opportunities as a private investor in real estate, construction, development and other activities.

J.B. leaves us with a legacy of hard work, family values, the importance of faith, the example of what determination can accomplish, an appreciation for philanthropy and a ton of memories, concluded the companys statement.

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