Mary June Hurd White (Mary)

Mary June Hurd White (Mary), widow of Patrick J. White, sister to 14 siblings, and dedicated mother of six, died Tuesday, April 26th at the Tidewell Hospice House in Bradenton, Florida. Mary would have been 89 on June 15, but took ill in mid-April, and was unable to recover. She was the tenth of fifteen children of the late Mr. and Mrs. Joy Seth Hurd of Cleveland, Ohio. Both of her parents were honored: her mother, Frances, was decorated with the papal medal "Pro Ecclesia et Pontifice," (the highest medal that can be awarded to the laity by the pope) and awarded the titles Catholic Mother of the Year for 1946 (by the National Catholic Conference on Family Life) and the Ohio Mother of 1946 (by the Golden Rule Foundation); her father received the 1960 Catholic Man of the Year Award (by the Cleveland Knights of Columbus). Mary was one of 8 sisters (all first named Mary), and 7 brothers. She and her siblings are the 13th generation of John Hurd, who came to America in 1630 from Somersetshire, England, and related to Nathaniel Hurd, of Boston, Massachusetts, famous for his copper engraving and silversmith work. Early on, Mary showed a talent for speed skating, winning the United States Junior Girls Indoor Speed Skating Championship in 1940 at age 14; the Ohio State Champion Junior Girls Skaters; and "Silver Skates" at the Arena in Cleveland, Ohio. Though WWII quickly focused her concerns elsewhere, Mary remained a special athlete throughout her life, competing and winning championships in various local tennis and golf tournaments. Mary was a graduate of St. Augustine's Academy and High School, Lakewood, Ohio, and attended Notre Dame University in Cleveland, Ohio. She was elected president of her sophomore class and attended school there until she fell in love with and married Pat White in 1946. Mary and Pat moved from Ohio to Sarasota in 1978 and became parishioners of St. Mary Star of the Sea. Later they moved to South Sarasota and joined St. Thomas More Catholic Church, Mary's church home for 34 years. They belonged to the Longboat Key Club and Mission Valley of Sarasota, Florida. Mary and Pat were married 61 years. A devoted mother, she and Pat had six children and welcomed three additional children to their family in the early 1960s as participants in Operation Peter Pan (the exodus of children from Cuba via Operacion Pedro Pan), bringing the household to 11 members until the childrens' mother arrived in America. As her children grew, Mary was active in the Catholic Church, teaching CCD and hosting Cursillos. During the 1960s she hosted a local TV show in Canton, Ohio that utilized an interview format, and she founded the city's Right to Life chapter. Mary retired from golf as she approached 80 and became an avid bird watcher and also took up photography. She showed some of her photographs (mostly of birds in natural settings) at Art Center Sarasota. She mused often about writing a novel based upon her early years in Ohio, but prioritized and spent her energy on her family, from building a bookcase for one of her daughters to publishing a chapbook of her late son's poetry. She was an avid reader of nonfiction and mystery novels. Though she never wrote her own book, she took on the mantle of updating her family's records and personally updated and published the latest edition of the Hurd family history and genealogy. In the dedication, she included a note: "Before leaving you all to it, I want to thank all of my brothers and sisters for all the fun and good times we had. I recall all the kindness, all the laughter and tears we shared. Life has been good." She is survived by her youngest sibling, Mary Sheila Kearney of Oklahoma, five children: Kate White (Ron Estep) of Sarasota, June Maurer of Bradenton, Sean (Mary Ann) White of Sarasota, Owen (Diane) White of Bradenton, Peg (Jay) Trezevant of Tampa, eleven grandchildren, five great grandchildren and 59 nieces and nephews. She is predeceased by her son Hugh, her son in law Michael Maurer, and 8 nieces and nephews. Service will be Friday, May 6th at 11:00 a.m. at St. Thomas More Catholic Church, 2506 Gulf Gate Dr, Sarasota, FL 34231.

Tributes

Mary June Hurd White (Mary)

April 26, 2016