Mr. Norton Hurd
Norton Hurd was born to the Late Marton Heard and Ivey Watkins on June 12, 1918 in Fort Deposit, Lowndes County, AL. He departed this life on June 28, 2012, at Evergreen Medical Center after a brief illness.
Norton was raised by his father, grandmother (Annie Wynn) and aunt, (Mammie Heard) until he became an adult. He was raised with much love and adoration by these two matriarchs and affectionately attributed his well-being to these ladies.
Norton had a very unorthodox education, always reminding his off spring of how he was self-taught, by simply reading everything he could get his hands on. He enlisted into the Armed Forces in May of 1942, where he fought in World War II. He received an honorable discharge in August of 1947. In that same year he became a student of Alabama State University and remained there until he graduated. He taught for many years at Conecuh County Training School until he retired and moved to Detroit, MI and began working in the field of construction, he was also an active member of St. Paul United Methodist Church until he moved up north. Norton finally retired in 1983 and moved back to Evergreen, AL where he lived out the rest of his years surrounded by family, friends and loved ones.
Norton married twice over the course of his life. His first marriage to Willease Matthews Hurd rendered three children, Norton Tyrone (proceeded him in death), Adrianne Carol and LaGrant. Years later, after his first marriage ended in divorce, he married Lettie Johnson Hurd, eventually they divorced after several years of marriage, but remained the best of friends and companions, living next door to one another, until his death.
He leaves to cherish his memory one daughter, Adrianne (Freddie Nettles) Hurd; one son, LaGrant (Linda) Hurd; eight grandchildren Leslie (Jamell) Williams, Mondolyn (Joe) Alford, Efia Shipman-Hurd, Rashaad Rankins, Omar Hurd, Shannan (Dwayne) Smith, Norton Frances Hurd and Najee Hurd; eleven great grands; a close friend and neighbor, Lettie Hurd and a host of family, friends and former students.
Kind hearts are the gardens, kind thoughts are the roots,
Kind words are the flowers, and kind deeds are the fruits.
You, our friends, have really been the best of all that grows.
Whatever you did to console us, to support us,
To lift up our spirits during this time of our sorrow,
We thank you wholeheartedly.
We wish to express our sincere gratitude for your love and support and most of all, your prayers during our loss of our dear loved one. We ask that you continue to pray for us as we mature in this transition. God’s blessings will always be yours.
- The Hurd Family