Obituary of Lonnie William Hurt

Lt. Lonnie William Hurt, U.S. Navy (Retired), age 79, met his Lord on Friday, October 9, 2015, after a long battle with melanoma. He was preceded in death by grandson Evan Michael Hurt, his parents A.I. Hurt and Rebecca Hurt of Cookeville, Tennessee, and sisters Virginia Lord and Wanda Borden Long. He is survived by his wife of sixty years, Bettye Mahler Hurt, his sister, Irene (Ray) Barlow, of Denver, Co., and children, Karen (Brad) Hornsby, Kevin (Trish) Hurt, Kent (Patricia) Hurt, Kyle (Christina) Hurt, ten grandchildren and seven great-grandchildren. Lonnie joined the Navy as a Seaman Basic at the age of eighteen. His career included duty in San Francisco and San Diego, California, where he served aboard the USS Wasp, the USS Bridget, the USS Thetis Bay, and the USS Canberra. He also served tours in Guantanamo Bay, Cuba; Atsugi, Japan; and Honolulu, Hawaii. After much hard work, the Navy promoted Lonnie from enlisted to officer status. He retired from the Navy after serving twenty years, and moved his family to Clarksville, Tennessee, where he attended and graduated from Austin Peay State University in 1978 with a degree in Business Administration. He served as a manager of Sullivan's and Harvey's department stores in Clarksville, Tennessee. After his second retirement, Lonnie and Bettye traveled extensively to Europe, Israel, the Caribbean, Panama, Mexico and all over the U.S. He was always happiest at sea and particularly enjoyed cruising. Reunions with former Navy shipmates were a highlight for him. Lonnie is a member of Riverdale Baptist Church in Murfreesboro, Tennessee, and First Church of the Nazarene in Bradenton, Florida, where he and Bettye spent their winters for several years. He was formerly a member of the First Church of the Nazarene in Clarksville, Tennessee for over thirty years, where he served in many capacities and had many friends. The family wishes to thank, for their compassionate care these past four years, Dr. Paul Rosenblatt of the Dan Rudy Cancer Center at St. Thomas West, Drs. Jeffrey Infante and James Meadows and staff at the Sarah Cannon Cancer Center in Nashville, and Dr. Diana Turner of the V.A. hospital in Murfreesboro. The family is also grateful to the staff of Alive Hospice (Melissa and Lisa), and to the staff of CPS (Mindi), who made Lonnie's final days comfortable as he made his transition. Memorial services for Lonnie will be held Saturday, October 17, 2015, at 1:00 o'clock, at Murfreesboro Funeral Home, the Reverend Curt Wagoner, officiating. Visitation with the family will be Saturday from 11:00 am until 1:00 pm at Murfreesboro Funeral Home. Interment will follow at a later date. In lieu of flowers, the family requests that memorial donations be made to Riverdale Baptist Church, 307 Warrior Dr., Murfreesboro, 37128, the Sarah Cannon Cancer Research Institute, 250 25th Ave. N. Nashville, Tennessee 37203 or Alive Hospice, Inc., 1718 Patterson St., Nashville, Tennessee 37203. Rest in Peace Lonnie. We love and miss you.