Patricia Harris-Hurst

1953 - 2024

HARRIS-HURST, Patricia Rosalee "Patsy"

Patricia "Patsy" Rosalee Harris- Hurst was born on July 11, 1953, in Washington, DC. She was the youngest of four children. She entered into rest on April 23, 2024, after a brief and courageous battle with cancer.

Like her mother, Maggie Harris, Patsy was a lifelong believer in learning, a trait she instilled in her children. She attended schools in Ewing Township, NJ, and Bennett College in Greensboro, NC, where she majored in Sociology.

After college, she worked as a counselor at the Mercer County Probation Department. Upon moving to Atlanta, Georgia, Patsy was employed as a social worker at Sheltering Arms, Inc.

Gary Hurst and Patsy Harris met, and dated, in the ninth grade at Fisher Middle School in Ewing Township, NJ. On September 4, 1982, Gary and Patsy married at Cadwalader-Asbury United Methodist Church in Trenton, NJ. They resided together in the Atlanta area for over 42 years.

Commencing in 1984, Patsy devoted her full time to raising her children. She simultaneously would volunteer as classroom mom and PTA parent during the day as well as soccer mom after school. Her commitment to her duties as a mom was not limited to her children. Many of her kids' classmates and teammates considered her as their second mom as a result of the love she extended to them.

After her children graduated from college, Patsy intrepidly traveled, with Gary as her traveling partner, the world from the rocky shores of Normandy, France, to the narrow passageways of Florence, Italy, to the lively Las Ramblas of Barcelona, Spain. During her travels, she could be seen dashing in and out of foreign bazaars wearing her USA baseball cap---which she wore with pride. She passed on her passion for travel to her children.

With the passage of time, Patsy became an expert self-taught cook. Her extravagant holiday meals were highly anticipated by family and friends. A dish Patsy missed most after her move to the South was New York style pizza. As a self-anointed "Jersey Girl", she would poetically discuss the merits of what makes for a great pizza. Over the years, Patsy would visit the opening of every new Atlanta pizzeria to determine if their pizza met her high standards.

Patsy is survived by her husband, Gary Hurst; sons, Mitchell Hurst and Taylor Hurst; daughter, Jordan Hurst; grandson, Lewis Hurst-Gautier; sisters, Cheryl Harris-Byrd and Shirley Kasey-Stockton; son-in-law, Vincent Gautier; brothers-in-law, Curtis Byrd and Melvin Stockton; sisters-in-law, NyAnn Hurst, Ruby Johnson, and Sherry Hurst; cousin, Dana Chambliss; nieces, Kasey Greer, Janna Greer and Mariah Johnson. Patsy was preceded in death by her father, Lewis Harris Sr.; mother, Maggie Harris; and brother, Lewis Harris, Jr.

She was loved by so many.

Patricia Rosalee Harris-Hurst's Celebration of Life will be held on May 4, 2024, at 11:00 AM, at Murray Brothers Funeral Home Cascade Chapel. Interment Westview Cemetery. Visitation this evening from 7- 8 PM at Murray Brothers, 1199 Utoy Springs Road S.W., Atlanta, GA 30331, (404)349-3000, www.murraybrothersfh.com.