Gloria Jean Hurd

BARRE - Gloria Jean, born on June 4, 1948 in Morrisville, Vermont, had the most wonderful smile, a laugh that was filled with joy, an incredibly generous heart, and a quick wit. As a girl growing up on the farm in Plainfield, Gloria walked into the fields and thought about her life. Specifically, she pondered the type of person she wanted to be, the type of woman and the type of mother.

Certain things, like her sense of humor, were likely both God-given and inherited from her Davis and Graves kin. Whether she was at work laughing at the investigators who played dollar poker or taking part in pranks, she enjoyed a good joke and loved retelling such stories at the dinner table each night.

While she inherited a generous spirit, she also chose that characteristic and path for her life. Gloria constantly did and kept doing for others. One day she’d be steaming up the kitchen windows baking homemade apple pies for neighbors, and the next day she’d work around the clock to sew Christmas stockings for a newly married couple or quilt a christening blanket for a baby.

Helping Vermonters was also a large part of Gloria’s life. She used her mind and skills supporting administration for various state offices and agencies. She thrived on a challenge, including her work for the Vermont Attorney General’s Office and the Vermont Board of Medical Practice. Her last position, prior to retiring early, was as the executive director of the Vermont Board of Medical Practice.

In more recent years, Gloria’s dream was to write novels for teens. She always loved hearing and telling a good story, understanding the power they hold. She spent countless hours reading, researching, and developing ideas. Specifically, Gloria wanted to author books that would be relevant to today’s teens but would also invite them to explore the Vermont she grew up in, at least with regard to the lessons that have been passed down through the generations. In the end, while she didn’t publish novels, her legacy was to write on the hearts of many adults and children, including her own child.

Gloria’s parents, Herbert Levi Graves and Leona Arlene Davis, predeceased her, Herbert in an automobile accident on her seventh birthday. While Gloria loved life, part of her always wanted to be with him again; their reunion on the morning of October 28th must have been incredibly sweet. All but two, Elizabeth Woodmansee and Jessie Graves, of Gloria’s aunts and uncles met her when she, in the words of John Gillespie Magee, Jr., “slipped the surly bonds of earth.” Hilda wrapped her in a hug, Lucile greeted her with a laugh, Gertrude and Irene watched with twinkles in their eyes, and Alfred, Clarence, Roy, Wally, and Robert stood by like Vermonter’s often do, stolidly but with real love. Of course, her sister-in-law, another Gloria Jean, was also there and ready to talk about their girls.

Gloria’s husband, Thomas Hurd, and their daughter, Shannon, continue to hold her in their hearts. Her brothers, Gordon and Gary Graves, also do, along with their families. All told, Gloria’s nine nieces and nephews and thirteen great-nieces and great-nephews live on and will carry different pieces of her with them.

Gloria requested that her service be held at the Grace United Methodist Church in Plainfield, Vermont, and we will gather there at 11:00 a.m. on Friday, November 4th.

In lieu of flowers and given Gloria’s love of children and reading, donations may be made to either the Katherine Paterson Children’s Room at the Aldrich Library in Barre, VT or the children’s library at the Kellogg-Hubbard Library in Montpelier, VT.

Finally, Gloria’s family wishes to thank the Barre City Fire Department and EMS for their care and professionalism.