O'Leah Lasson Hurst

Lee Hurst was born O’Leah Lasson on January 20, 1926 in Indianola, Utah. She was the middle child of five born to Niels Oscar and Ursula Spencer Lasson. She died on April 15, 2008 in McKay Dee Hospital. Knowing that ‘nothing is certain but death and taxes’, she would have seen the humor in the fact that she combined both on the same day.

Lee was a typical middle child. She was a great mediator and willing to compromise. She was friendly, sociable and free-spirited. She was loyal to her many friends, and was an effective team player. Lee was independent and inventive. She was able to handle disappointments and roll with the punches.

Lee was married to the love of her life, Rex L. Hurst on August 26, 1946 in the Salt Lake Temple.

Mom held a variety of jobs after her children were raised (catalog department of Sears and the Hospital Credit Union), but she excelled as a teacher. She has had numerous teaching and leadership positions in the LDS church, but her favorite calling was that of a mother.

She let us know how special human beings are by taking a unique approach. She showed her emotions frequently with eyes brimming full of tears. Her message: crying is uniquely human. No other animal expresses its emotions by releasing tears.

She taught us by example to find something good in each day. She had a contagious laugh, was the life of the party and found the humor in each situation. Although she never planned to be on oxygen, have a husband with memory loss, nor be the surviving spouse, she rose to each new challenge with grace and independence.

Homemaking skills were important to convey. She taught her grandchildren how to dip chocolate, make honey candy, bake rolls, make pies, rotate food storage, can beans, and crochet.

To impress upon us the phrase, “Life may not be the party you hoped for, but while you are here you may as well dance” – she and Rex accepted numerous callings to teach youth to dance, planned numerous dance festivals and Gold and Green Balls.

To stress the importance of education, she went to college in her forties and shared with us the excitement of learning. To help us value literature, she read to us regularly and often recited poetry. She took up snow skiing and water skiing as an adult to emphasize the need to “seize the day.”

Mom constantly told us that “This too will pass” and not to wish our life away. She lived by this motto as she continued to find joy in a new recipe, a “find” on QVC, or a new doll for her collection.

She loved people and had the ability to make each of her grandchildren and great grandchildren think that each is the one she loved best! She taught us how to be dependable by always being there for us – to listen to our adventures or reason with us about solutions to our problems. She taught us how to love by loving us.

We love you mom! Congratulations on a life well lived.

She is survived by 2 sisters, her five children Dr. Craig (Jill) Hurst, Vicki (Steve) Allan, Cherri (Steve) Hart, Gary (Lori) Hurst, Steve (Connie) Hurst, 21 grandchildren and 7 great grandchildren. She was preceded in death by her husband, her older brother and sister, and a grandchild.

The viewing will be held at the Allen-Hall Mortuary on Friday, April 18th from 6-8 pm and on Saturday morning from 10:30-11:30 am. Funeral services will be held on Saturday, April 19th in the Allen-Hall Mortuary at 34 East Center in Logan at noon.