Krys and all, Those of you who do not live in Putnam Co. are probably not aware of this information. William A. "Billy" Hurst, 87, rural Greencastle, died unexpectedly Monday morning at his residence. Born on his family's farm, he was the son of Paul and Gertrude (Cooper) Hurst. A 1936 graduate of Belle union High School, he attended various agricultural classes at Purdue University.He was a disabled U.S. Army veteran of World War II, and was a farmer and nationally known Suffolk sheep breeder. A member of Deer Creek Primitive Baptist Church, he had served for many years as church clerk. He and wife Helen also served as administrators and caretakers of Deer Creek Cemetery. He was a former president of the Putnam County Fair Board and had been active in 4-H and Future Farmers of America as a volunteer and mentor for youth, both locally and statewide. He was a member of the Putnam County Sheep Breeders Association, Indiana Sheep Breeders Association, and the National Suffolk Sheep Association, for which he served as secretary for eight years. He received the Distinguished Service Award of the National Suffolk Sheep Assoc. in 1992. He was inducted into the Purdue University Agriculture Hall of Fame in 1981, and in 1985 he and wife Helen were inducted into the Putnam County Agricultural Hall of Fame. Hurst was also a genealogist, a member of the National Society of the Sons of the American Revolution, Putnam County Historical Society, National Road Preservation Association, and was a supporter and contributor to the Putnam County Museum. He was also a member of American Legion Post 58 in Greencastle. He married Helen C. Reasor on June 23, 1949. She survives. Also surviving are two daughters, Helen Newton, and Beverly Ross and husband Reggie, all of Greencastle; three grandchildren one great-grandchild, and several nieces and nephews. He was preceded in death by his parents, brothers Victor, Harry, Alton and Carlyle Hurst, sister Pauline Padgett, and a granddaughter. Services will be at 10 a.m. Thursday at First Baptist Church in Greencastle with Rev. Paul Bowen and Elders Kevin Freeman and Tommy Freeman officiating. Burial with military honors will be at Deer Creek Cemetery. Visitation is 4-8 p.m. Wednesday at Bittles and Hurt Funeral Home, Greencastle. Memorial contributions can be made to the American Heart Association, 7272 Greenville Ave., Dallas, Texas, 75231, or the Deer Creek Cemetery Fund, 3265 E. U.S. 40, Greencastle, 46135. I personally will mourn his passing. My father let me go with him to Billy Hurst's farm to pick out some sheep. I was very young, probably 10 or so at the time. It was a big deal to me. I was also being introduced to Mr. Hurst as my Dad's oldest child since he and my father were roughly the same age and had grown up in the same area and both served in WWII. Sharon ----- Original Message ----- From: "Krys Douglas" <[email protected]> To: <[email protected]> Sent: Thursday, August 25, 2005 11:03 AM Subject: Re: [INPUTNAM] Deer Creek Baptist records > In 2000 I was in Putnam Co. and had the good fortune to meet with a Mr. > Hurst (I believe his first name was Jesse, but I'm not certain about > that). > Anyway, he was at the time the secretary for the Deer Creek congregation > and > had control of all the original records for Deer Creek Church. He happened > to have them at his home, because another person had written, asking to > see > them. He let me look over them, and copy the passages relevant to the > people > I was searching (Pecks and McCartys). According to Mr. Hurst, the records > are stored in a bank deposit box in Cloverdale (at that time at least, and > it's probable still the case). There were several years worth of material. > I > think Mr. Hurst or the current secretary would be amenable to someone > transcribing the records. > > It turns out Mr. Hurst and I are distantly related, but then I'm related > to > half of Putnam Co. ;-) > > Krys > "Writing is no trouble: you just jot down ideas as they occur to you. The > jotting is simplicity itself--it is the occurring which is difficult." -- > Stephen Leacock > > > ==== INPUTNAM Mailing List ==== > To unsubscribe follow the instructions in the welcome message. > >