Audrey Hunt, 98, Leaves Legacy of Family, Farming and El Dorado County Fair Competition
SACRAMENTO — Audrey Aileen (Davis) Hunt, whose life was shaped by family, farming, faith and a deep connection to California agricultural traditions, died peacefully Sept. 3, 2026, at her lifelong family home. She was 98.
Hunt was born April 20, 1928, to Earl Paul Davis and Nellie Aileen (Wolgamott) Davis. According to her obituary, she was raised on the Davis family property in Sacramento, land that had been in her family since her great-grandfather, Asahel Bradley Davis, arrived from Canada in 1859 and purchased the property.
Her life reflected a generation in which agriculture was not simply an occupation but a way of life.
Hunt grew up on the family ranch and learned the work that came with it. She attended Washington School in Perkins, Kit Carson Junior High and Sacramento High School before attending the University of California, Davis, where she studied agriculture.
She was also an accomplished horsewoman. Hunt competed at the California State Fair and won blue ribbons with her quarter horse, Dusty Joe. Away from the ranch and livestock, she played piano and alto saxophone.
At UC Davis, she met Harold Alfred Hunt, another agriculture student who shared her Christian faith and love of the outdoors. The couple married June 24, 1951.
Together, Audrey and Harold operated a dairy farm and raised six children: Susan, Patty, William, Nancy, David and Donald.
The obituary describes a life of work that included raising and milking cattle, growing and harvesting feed, irrigating fields, repairing fences and equipment, tending gardens and raising children.
A Wheelbarrow Race Worth Remembering
For El Dorado County residents, however, Hunt’s story carries a particularly local connection.
She carried on a family tradition at the El Dorado County Fair by entering — and winning — the women’s division of the fair’s famous obstacle-course wheelbarrow race.
Today, the event is known as the John M. Studebaker Wheelbarrow Race, a competition deeply rooted in Placerville’s Gold Rush-era history.
The race remains one of the El Dorado County Fair’s signature attractions. The modern course challenges competitors with obstacles that have included mud, railroad ties and balance beams while contestants maneuver wheelbarrows carrying a load of ore. The 2026 competition was held June 20 at the El Dorado County Fair & Event Center in Placerville.
The race itself dates back decades. A 1947 account of the El Dorado County Fair described the Studebaker wheelbarrow competition as a traditional feature, with contestants racing to a pile of gold-bearing gravel, loading a sack and returning with their wheelbarrow. The competition commemorated John M. Studebaker’s early connection to Placerville, where he made wheelbarrows for miners before the Studebaker name became associated with wagons and automobiles.
The race has endured as an unusually physical piece of El Dorado County history.
Hunt’s victory placed her within that tradition — not merely as a spectator at the county fair, but as a competitor who took on the course and won.
Faith and Family
Faith was another defining element of Hunt’s life.
Her parents helped establish Faith Bible Church by donating land for the church, according to the family obituary. Hunt attended the church from childhood and was its last surviving original member. She and Harold raised their children in the Christian faith.
The family obituary summarized the significance of her life in terms extending beyond her 98 years:
“A family, a faith, and a connection to the land” endured through generations.
Hunt was preceded in death by her parents, Earl and Nellie Davis; her brother, Robert Earl Davis; and her husband, Harold Alfred Hunt.
She is survived by her sisters, Nancy C. (Davis) Cleavinger and Janet E. (Davis) Harvey Given; her six children; eight grandchildren; and seven great-grandchildren, according to the obituary.
Services Scheduled
A funeral service for Hunt is scheduled for 11 a.m. Saturday, Sept. 12, 2026, at East Lawn Memorial Park, 4300 Folsom Boulevard in Sacramento.
Burial is scheduled for noon, followed by a luncheon at the Greenhouse event center on the grounds.
For El Dorado County, Hunt’s passing marks the loss of someone whose life intersected with one of the county fair’s most distinctive traditions.
The Studebaker Wheelbarrow Race continues to draw competitors to Placerville, but stories such as Hunt’s are part of what gives the event meaning beyond the mud, obstacles and competition.
For one 98-year-old champion, the race became one more chapter in a life already defined by hard work, family, faith and a connection to the agricultural traditions of Northern California.
Sources: Family obituary published through East Lawn Memorial Parks and Mortuaries; historical reporting on the El Dorado County Fair and Studebaker Wheelbarrow Race.
