May 31, 2022, at the age of 22 following a brief but courageous battle with brain cancer.
Hunter was courageous and relentless in every way, and his presence will be missed and felt, both by his teammates on the field and all of those he came in contact with every day off the field. Hunter shared with his parents, Marc and Carrie:
He was a three-time Missouri Valley Football Conference Academic Honor Roll selection, two-time MVFC All-Academic Honorable Mention, two-time MVFC Commissioner's Excellence List of Academic Excellence award winner, and All-MVFC Honorable Mention linebacker in 2021.
Hunter graduated as an Honors Scholar with High Academic Distinction, Summa Cum Laude, with an undergraduate degree in Recreation, Park, and Tourism Administration, and was pursuing a Master's degree in Sport Management during the 2021-22 academic year.
In honor of our friend and teammate, the Hunter Mason Memorial Fund has been established to carry on Hunter's Leatherneck spirit at Western Illinois University.
Each spring, a current Leatherneck will be honored with the Hunter Mason Courage Award and Scholarship. The award will be presented to an upper-class student-athlete who displays the characteristics and values embraced by Hunter: scholarship, community service, and most importantly, leadership through courage.
If you are so moved, please consider joining the Leatherneck family in contributing to the fund in his memory.