Captain William C. Bill Hurley

1923 - 2016

HURLEY On Wednesday, September 28, surrounded by his loving family, Captain William C. Bill Hurley left this earth peacefully after a brief illness to join God and sail the high seas of Heaven. Bill was born in Gastonia, N.C., on Nov 29, 1923. He graduated from Kings Point Merchant Marine Academy, Kings Point, NY, in 1944, and immediately served his country as part of the Liberty ship convoy during the D-Day Invasion of WWII. Bill met and married Eileen in 1951, in The Hague, The Netherlands. The Captain sailed the seven seas with United States Lines on the Superliner S.S. America and S.S. United States. They moved to Jacksonville in 1958, and have resided in the Clifton Manor area. Bill then started a career with the NASA at the beginning of the space program in Cape Canaveral. He helped in developing the down range missile tracking systems on ships following the Vanguard, Explorer and Jupiter missiles in the Atlantic Ocean and Caribbean Sea as Marine Superintendent. He later served in the Navy Reserve during the Berlin Crisis in 1961, and the Cuban Missile Crisis in 1962. The Captain was also a member of the Marine Square Club Inc. of New York, NY. Bill was an engaged member of the Arlington Masonic Lodge, #309 and The Beaches Shrine. Bill had a passion for golf, boating, snow skiing, dancing, travelling and good food and wine. He is survived by his wife of 65 years, Eileen Hurley, three children: Will Hurley Jr (Rhonda) , Patricia Hurley Murr (Ibrahim) and Gregory Shawn Hurley (Pam ), 7 grandchildren: Melina, Alec and Kyler Hurley, Chad Hamilton, Kirstie, Karim and Camille Murr and two great-grandchildren Caitlynn and Grady. He is also survived by his younger brother, Tom Hurley, and his family, Newton, N.C. Bill loved family get-togethers which were as frequent as possible. A Memorial Service for family and friends will be held on Saturday, Oct 22, at 11 a.m. at Ponte Vedra Presbyterian Church, 4510 Palm Valley Road, Ponte Vedra Beach, FL 32082. In lieu of flowers and in honor of his memory, the family requests that donations be made either to Mission House (Jax Bch), Transportation fund of Shriners Hospitals for Children, Tampa, FL or Community Hospice of Jacksonville. Funeral arrangements are under the care and direction of Hardage-Giddens Funeral Home, 1701 Beach Blvd., Jacksonville Beach, FL 32250 (904) 249-2374. www.hardage-giddensbeacheschapel.com or www.dignitymemorial.com