Holland Hunter, an expert on Russia

Holland Hunter, 92, of Haverford, an expert on Russian transportation policy and professor emeritus of economics at Haverford College, died Saturday, Jan. 18, of pneumonia at the Quadrangle in Haverford.

Dr. Hunter grew up in Geneva, Ill., the son of real estate developer Harry Holland Hunter and Hester Hunter, an advertising copywriter. He graduated from the Fountain Valley School in Colorado and received his bachelor's degree in economics from Haverford College in 1943.

After completing a master's degree in 1947 and a doctorate in 1949, both in economics from Harvard University, he returned to Haverford College. He taught economics for the rest of his career, retiring in the early 1990s.

Dr. Hunter specialized in transportation policy in the Soviet Union. He was especially interested in railroads. A prolific author of books and articles, he also did research for the Brookings Institution, the National Science Foundation, and the Russian Research Center.

He was an active member of Haverford Friends Meeting and sat on the board of directors for the Haverford Friends School and the Baldwin School, both on the Main Line.

He ran unsuccessfully as a Democrat for Lower Merion Township commissioner at a time when the panel was overwhelmingly Republican. His children would go with him from door to door, passing out campaign literature, knowing it was unlikely he would win.

"He passed on his enthusiasm for doing the right thing," said daughter Ann. He also passed on to them his love of music and reading, she said.

In 1945 he married Helen Taft Manning, who became a professor of economics at Bryn Mawr College. The two met in a statistics class at graduate school and were married 68 years. They lived in Villanova and Haverford before moving to the Quadrangle in the mid-1990s. She died on Oct. 17, 2013.

In addition to his daughter, he is survived by a son, Timothy; another daughter, Christine; eight grandchildren, and three great-grandchildren.

A funeral service will be held at 3 p.m. Sunday, Feb. 16, at the Haverford Friends Meeting, 855 Buck Lane, Haverford, followed by a reception. Interment is private.

Donations may be made to the American Friends Service Committee via https://afsc.org/.