SPRINGDALE, Ark., Dec. 7 (UPI) -- Johnnie Bryan Hunt Sr., founder of J.B. Hunt Transport Services Inc., the biggest U.S. trucking company, died Thursday in Springdale, Ark.
Hunt, who was 79, had been hospitalized in critical condition last week at Northwest Medical Center-Springdale after being injured in a fall, Arkansas Business reported.
Hunt retired from active service to the company in 1995 but remained on the board until 2004.
The son of Depression-era sharecroppers from rural Arkansas, Hunt started J.B. Hunt Co., a rice hull business, in 1961. Eight years later he and his wife started J.B. Hunt Transport with five trucks and seven refrigerated trailers to support his rice hull business. That effort led to J.B. Hunt Transportation Services Inc.
Hunt was remembered Thursday by colleagues for "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," a corporate spokesman said.
Hunt is survived by his wife of 54 years, Johnelle, their son, Bryan, and daughter, Jane Hardin.
His funeral will be Monday at the Church at Pinnacle Hills in Rogers, Ark.
