60th Anniversary: Homer and Mary Lou Hurley

Homer and Mary Lou (Alphin) Hurley were married Aug. 30, 1956, at historic Christ Church Episcopal in Irvington, Virginia. The couple first lived in Cincinnati where Homer was a programmer at Crosley Corporation. In three years Homer became a National Science Foundation scholar at Duke University. The family then returned to the Washington, D.C., area. Mary Lou became a high school guidance counselor while Homer was a Fellow at the Smithsonian Institution completing his doctoral degree.

Homer then became a professor at the University of North Carolina (Boone campus) for eight years. The family always called this home. During those years, the family moved to Germany for a year as Homer became a visiting professor at the University of Gottingen.

In 1974 they left their Southern roots and made the momentous move (two cars, three children, one dog, two adults and a U-Haul) to their ranch in the upper Flathead Valley.

After the couple retired, they went to Honduras as Volunteer for Mission teachers with the Episcopal Church USA. These years were their most fulfilling and the pinnacle of their teaching careers.

Their children are Richard and wife Andrea of Louisville, Colorado, Kathryn Hurley of Missoula, and David and wife Miho of Idaho Falls, Idaho. They have four grandchildren, Andrew, Jared and Anna Mackey and Willem Hurley.

Their children hosted several lovely dinner parties on their 40th and 50th anniversaries at their parents’ home. This year, the Hurleys wished to visit relatives and friends in their native land of Virginia and North Carolina.