Thomas Hurley

Thomas Hurley

Rev. Thomas Hoffman Hurley died March 11 in Sacramento. He was 94.

Services will be held at 2 p.m., Saturday, April 19, at Fairview Community Christian Church in Trowbridge, near East Nicolaus.

Rev. Hurley was born Oct. 2, 1913, in Artesia to Josephine Ellen Critchley Hurley and William Walter Hurley. Growing up he earned extra money working on farms in the Artesia area, learning to speak Spanish and acquiring a love of farming. He graduated from Chapman College in 1936 and earned a Masters of Divinity degree from the Pacific School of Religion in Berkeley. He married Fern Muriel Yagerlehner in June 1940. They settled in Beaumont where he served his first church.

Rev. Hurley was called by a rural church and moved to Trowbridge, near East Nicolaus. He served as minister for the Fairview Community Christian Church for over 25 years. He was a community organizer, was instrumental in bringing the Boy Scout program to the community and became a water safety instructor and taught for over 15 years. He received the Disciples of Christ Rural Minister of the Year Award in 1958.

Rev. Hurley served on the board for the Southern California Christian Homes, which provided low-income housing for seniors. He was a co-founder and president of Christian Church Homes of Northern California, which continues to provide low cost housing for seniors throughout the northern part of California.

Rev. Hurley married Virginia Floyd following the death of his first wife, Fern.

Rev. Hurley exemplified Christian living, became a member of the Fellowship of Reconciliation in 1943 and continued as a contributor his entire life. In his mid-80s he continued to call on people in convalescent homes from Lincoln to Live Oak.

Rev. Hurley is survived by his wife, Virginia; sister, Kathleen Wallis; son and daughter-in-law, Glenn and Bettyann; son, Tim; daughter and son-in-law, Judith Hurley Prosser and Larry Prosser of Grass Valley; seven grandchildren; five great-grandchildren and many other family members.

He was preceded in death by his first wife, Fern; brother, William Hurley; mother, Josephine Hurley Andrews and father, William Walter Hurley.

Memorial donations may be made to the Chapman Disciples Scholarship Fund, Office of Church Relations, Chapman University, One University Drive, Orange, 92866.