My Mother, Arleen Hurt's, Obituary

Arleen Hurt, Born May 26, 1938. Died July 15, 2016.

Arleen passed away peacefully at home in the presence of three of her children and several other extended family members on July 15, 2016. She was 78.

Arleen was preceded in death by her husband, Virgil Hurt and her three brothers, Chuck, Steve and Bobbie Braxton. She is survived by her five children, Gary Hurt (Twin Falls, ID), Sheryl Kline (Pittsburgh, PA), Larry Hurt (Eau Claire, WI), Virgil Hurt (Lynchburg, VA), Letha Beidleman (Boise, ID) and their spouses, 20 grandchildren, and 11 great grandchildren.

She was greatly loved and will be deeply missed by her family and friends.

Her children invite you to a memorial service in honor of Arleen to be held Thursday, July 21 at 11:00am at Parke’s Funeral Home, located at 2551 Kimberly Road, Twin Falls. A graveside service will follow.

Arleen was born in Los Angeles, California in 1938 at a mere three pounds.  She stubbornly fought for survival and this characteristic of a stubborn fighter remained with her throughout her life. She was a tough lady who worked hard to provide for her children.

Arleen moved to Norco, CA in 1944 and then to Richmond, CA in 1948. She attended Felt Business School in 1955 and was married to Virgil Hurt in 1956 and then moved to Concord, CA sometime around 1960. She worked as a calculator operator until 1963 and as a mail carrier in Walnut Creek, CA around the same time.

The family moved to Twin Falls, ID in 1970, where her youngest daughter, Letha, was born. She started working for Roger’s Brothers Seed Company as a seed sorter on a wide belt in 1971. She worked in the seed industry for 45 years, from 1971 until just a few weeks before her death.  She worked as a seed tester starting in 1978 and did this work until 2016.

Arleen retired briefly in 1998. After her husband’s death in 2000, Arleen began an extensive remodeling of her house and prepared detailed historical family albums for all of her children. She spent many hours sitting on the shores of Salmon Dam Reservoir bottom fishing in the incessant wind. After her retirement experiment, Arleen returned to her work and her friends at the seed lab. She was most at home at work and worked diligently until June of this year. To celebrate her grandson, Seth Hurt’s, recent wedding, Arleen attended the huge celebration on June 25, 2016 in Eau Claire, Wisconsin. It was her intention to work even a bit more after returning home but after the trip she was too ill to return to work. She leaves behind an excellent legacy and example of the value of hard work.

Arleen and Virgil loved camping, hunting and fishing, particularly in Mackay, Idaho. They were at deer camp there in October of 1983 during the big Idaho earthquake. She put many miles on her pickup between Twin Falls and Pocatello and later Boise, spending many holidays and special occasions with her daughter, Letha, her husband, John and kids Johnny and Janie. She drove through much of the country in 2001 with Aunt Dee Clarke and visited historic and family sites all across the nation. She took the southern route out all the way to Lynchburg, Virginia, headed home on the northern route, stopping in Eau Claire, Wisconsin and arrived safely home to finish Arleen and Dee’s excellent adventure.

Grandma Arleen accomplished several important items on her bucket list. Her 70’s were an active season. Her son, Gary, took her salmon fishing in Kenai, AL in 2008 and she caught a 45 lb. king salmon when she was 70. She did a hot air balloon ride in Park City, UT at 71. She made several trips to Cabo, San Lucas with her good friends from the seed lab. These seasoned ladies enjoyed sampling tequila shots in Cabo. One of the great thrills of her life was petting a Gray Whale in Magdalena Bay, Cabo in 2011. Also in Cabo, she got to parasail at the spry age of 75. She was excited to parasail but once in the air a bit of panic set in. She frantically tried to signal the boat driver to stop. He misunderstood her frantic hand motions, (on purpose?) and happily waved to her up in the sky as she finished her parasail pull. No problem. Cross that one off! Once was plenty. Great adventures for a little old lady!

Arleen was diagnosed with lung cancer on May 13, 2016. A large family celebration for her grandson’s recent wedding had already been planned for June 25, 2016. Arleen was determined to make it to the celebration and stated, “I will be there if I have to crawl.” She made it. She conserved her energy for the trip and spent it all while she was there. As her children and grandchildren heard of her diagnosis, many made it to Wisconsin for a final celebration with Mom and Grandma as well as the wedding reception. Arleen danced with her grandson, Zachary, just a few weeks before her passing. While in Wisconsin, she enjoyed a beautiful pontoon excursion with family on the famous Chippewa Flowage ending with a lakeside family dinner. She had many wonderful conversations and celebrations with her kids and grandkids. The Wisconsin celebration was a joyous and bittersweet occasion for all of us. Arleen saved up her energy for the trip and spent it visiting, celebrating and rejoicing with family to say her final farewells. Upon returning to Twin Falls, her health failed rapidly and she passed away peacefully at home in the presence of several of her children and grandchildren.