Royal Orville Hurst Jr.

Royal Orville Hurst Jr., 92, was born June 14, 1926, in Chicago, IL. He left us on March 23, 2019. He is now with his son Royal III; parents, Royal Orville & Mabel Hurst; grandparents, Ira & Elizabeth Hurst; great-grandparents, Iva & Amanda Hurst. He is survived by his loving wife of nearly 72 years, Gloria Hurst; daughters, Evelyn Fowlkes and Michelle (Larry) Hurst- Parks; son, Michael (Marsha) Hurst; daughter-in-law, Marge Hurst; numerous grandchildren, great-grandchildren, and great-great-grandchildren.

Royal proudly served in the Navy during World War II, where he was stationed in Guam. He enjoyed wearing his Navy WWII hat as he went out. Royal was one of the founders of the VFW/ African American Veterans. He retired from the Postal Service after a 33- year career with multiple promotions. Then he worked at Fermilab as a Technologist as a national Accelerator. Later he and Gloria retired to Pueblo, to join their sons.

An avid horseman and fisherman, he enjoyed these two activities the most, with his dear friends. He was one of the organizers of “The Horsemen,” a community service organization. He became a Horseman more than 20 years ago, riding his horses, along with Gloria, in Chicago parades. When they moved from Maywood to Pueblo, their horses were in tow. As a lifetime fisherman, Royal began fishing at Fox Lake in Illinois and ended in the mountains of Colorado, where he and his dear friend Paul Ehardt spent many days spinning tall tales about fishing.

He played golf for a number of years and was one of the founders of the “Par Busters,” an African American Golfing Group.

Royal had been a member of Christ the King for 30 years and enjoyed being an usher at the Saturday evening service, serving with some of his friends. He joined the Knights of Columbus and earned the title, Navigator. He was a proud 4th degree Knight of Columbus and participated in many of their functions.

Royal’s family moved from Maywood, Illinois, where that city’s historical walk proudly displays the story of the Hurst family in their “African American Heritage Trail Tour,” as the Hurst family was the first African American family to reside in the city.

Memorial Mass, 10 a.m., Saturday, April 6th, at Christ the King Catholic Church.