Lora Dean Hurlbert

Lora Dean Harper Hurlbert, or Dean as she was called, was an amazing woman of God. She was loved, is missed greatly, and will forever hold a place in our hearts. She was born on July 31, 1951 right along with her twin brother, Gene, to a young mom who knew that there was a loving couple that would be able to better care for them. Dean and Gene were adopted by Herman and Faye Harper. Herman and Faye were in church any time the doors were open, and now they had their sweet twins there with them. To show their belief and love of Jesus to the world, Dean and Gene both made the decision to be baptized in 1963. Dean would always try to help keep her brother out of trouble and help him with his school work. Gene was always there for Dean for anything and everything she needed. Fast forward many years later when she married Earl Hurlbert on January 6, 1979. Their son, Bryan, was born in 1980, and their daughter, Brandi, was born in 1983. Dean lived her life for her kids. One of the best things that Dean and Earl did for them was bring them to church to know the Lord. Through their actions, Bryan and Brandi learned what it meant to be a servant of God. Dean lived her life for her kids. She always put them first, and even went without to make sure they had everything they needed. To say that Dean and Earl were so proud of Bryan and Brandi is an understatement. Dean absolutely loved the Astors. Not only did she like to watch their games, she had to record the games too and rewatch any great plays that happened. She loved to go to church to sing and listen to hymns. One of her favorite songs was The Old Rugged Cross. It always reminded her that Jesus died for her and that one day she’d be with Him and all her troubles would be gone as long as she kept her eyes on Him. Dean also loved children. Growing up, she enjoyed babysitting and babysat for so many families. She moved in with her friend (now Judy Bently) to help her take care of her boys, Travis and Jason. Another chapter in her life is when she helped take care of her nieces, Alicia and Arrica. Later, she worked at a daycare to continue to be able to work with kids. On December 25, 1990, her dad passed away. In 1992, Dean’s mother came to live with her family, so Dean could take care of her. Dean started an at home daycare to help with finances. She took care of her mom until April 1998 when she died. There were several kids that Dean took care of over the years and she loved each of them like her own. She would do anything she could to accommodate their parents, too. Once her son Bryan started teaching, and he had kids in his classes that my mom babysat as a baby, she decided it was time to make a change. Dean started as a substitute teacher in 2006. She couldn’t quite get away from working with kids! Dean was an outstanding substitute teacher. She would try her hardest to make sure that the students weren’t missing out on what they were learning while their teacher was out. She was an instant must have sub for teachers if you were going to be out. Not only did she follow the lesson plans, but she would even put the papers in alphabetical order and grade papers. That wasn’t the only thing the teachers, now her friends, loved about her. She was witty and always wanted to make everyone laugh. She listened to their troubles and always tried to give words of comfort. Some even said that she had the prettiest handwriting - even on the whiteboard which is quite the talent in the teaching world! When her daughter started teaching at the same school as her son, she was so happy to spend her days with both her children, her friends, and teaching kids. Later her kids ended up at different schools, so she tried to split her time between both schools. When her husband, Earl, became sick, all of her friends helped her by covering any class that she was subbing for, so she could leave and take him to doctors appointments so Dean wouldn’t have to lose any pay. She did everything she could to take care of Earl, but even the best caregivers can’t prevent when God calls us Home. Earl was called Home on May 8, 2016. Losing the love of your life is hard, but Dean was a strong woman. While her kids were grown adults, she never skipped a beat in continuing to do all that she could for them. On March 24, 2017, Dean’s dreams came true. Her daughter Brandi had a baby, and Dean became Gigi to Aubrie Jane. There was a new reason in the world to rejoice in God. Gigi even kept Aubrie with her the first four nights she came home (and would still get up to go to work to Sub), so Brandi could get enough sleep to heal. To everyone’s surprise, she became a Gigi again to Austin Edward on April 7, 2019. Austin spent his first week in the NICU. While Adam stayed at home overnight to take care of Austin, Dean stayed with Brandi in the hospital for 5 nights to comfort her since she couldn’t be with her new baby boy. Dean fell so much in love with her grandkids. She would even say that she’d never be able to retire because she needed to be able to always spoil them! She loved being a Gigi. Dean started to become tired a lot easier and became sick. She had a 17 inch mass in her abdomen that was pushing fluid into her lungs. In June of 2019, she was diagnosed with low grade follicular lymphoma. She spent 28 days in the hospital. Dean started chemotherapy in August, and while through PET scans we found the tumor was shrinking, chemo was rough on her. After every treatment, she became weaker and weaker. She found out in December that her tumor had shrunk so small that it was possible that it was scar tissue. However, Dean was becoming weaker and weaker by the day. She was admitted back into the hospital on Sunday, January 5th. Dean left this world on Monday, January 13, 2020 to spend eternity with God and those who left before her in Heaven. The family and friends who she left behind will always remember her kind, loving, and giving heart. The Addison family and staff extend their condolences to the Hurlbert family.

Lora Dean Hurlbert

July 31, 1951 - January 13, 2020