Don Hurless

Sure miss Don. He taught me everything about the piano. Im glad he got to see me at a level of success from his hard work. Also miss Carolyn his wife. She was always such a nice lady. Rest in Peace, both of you!

One of my fondest memories is when I had participated in an Ohio state piano competition back in 1989. All of the performances had finished and the head judge announced that there would be only one winner and no runners up. After he said my number, in the silence I heard Don chuckling quietly from the audience. I will never forget that for the rest of my life. My second fondest memory is of him playing the bongos during my lessons. What he taught me has never left me. Thank you Don.

Don Hurless was a great talent, teacher, friend and accompanist. I worked with him since childhood gigging, and am truly grateful for all of the musical skills he enlightened me with. I still think "no knuckle buckle" to myself when showing kids how to play. Don will live on in all of his students...forever!

Don was one of the most amazing people I have met. I was in my third year of teaching Music, and a grant was written to have him come in and teach 3rd grade students how to compose their own songs. It was an amazing experience, and we were proud at what those third graders came up with. He was always concerned with working with such a large group of students because he usually worked with students individually. Our final concert was one I have never forgotten. Those third grade students at...

I came to know Don through Anita Skinner, my violin teacher at the time. I had questions about composition and jazz piano, and he had answers to them all. He had me playing publicly in about three months on standards I had barely known. His teaching style was organic and anecdotal, and it helped me see jazz as more than a bunch of notes being played and complex chords and all of that--Don's greatest lesson to me was that jazz was a way of life, and he shared with me many stories of people who...

Don "Mr." Hurless. The greatest teacher of anything I ever had. Always challenging, yet waited for the student to figure it out for himself. Don, you were better than anybody at teaching. No matter what it was.

Your instruction led me to world travels in music, and shaped nearly everything I do to this day.

You introduced me to people, styles, and most importantly, new ways of looking at things. How to get from here to there. In more than six ways...

Swing on,...

A great talent on many fronts. Still one of the hippest cats I have ever met. A friend of both my Father and myself. Life isn't always easy but Don always made it to the next level with a cool spirit and smooth sounds. Thank you Mr. Hurless.

Was sorry to hear of Don's passing. Have many fond memories of him when we were growing up. He was a friend as well as a cousin . Great Guy. Rest in peace.
Kay Bagley Dugan

I started lessons with Carolyn when I was 5 years old. She was like a mother to me. Caring and loving and just so darn smart! After a short while, she moved me on to Don. At first I was sad to leave her. But over time, "Mr. Hurless" became not only my favorite teacher ever, but he felt more like a friend that shared his enthusiasm about much more than just piano. I took lesson with the two of them for nearly 14 years. My sister Jodi also took lessons with him. As an Adult, I could not...