Derek J. Hurt

Derek Jermaine Hurt, 46, of Meriden, CT, passed away peacefully on Sunday, January 16, 2022, in the presence of his parents and sister.
The youngest of one sibling, he was born on November 11, 1975, in Kansas City, MO. In his younger years, he loved to play basketball, go bike riding, and operate remote control airplanes with his maternal grandfather. His family later moved to Overland Park, KS., where he attended Blue Valley North High School, and found his love for computer science. He later built on that passion with an Associate's degree focused in Computer Science at Howard Community College.
Although Derek enjoyed technology, he was his happiest when he was around other people. He spent his professional career in the telecommunications industry, working in leadership positions at companies in Baltimore, MD, Huntington, WV, New London, CT, and New Haven, CT. He had a tremendous work ethic and enjoyed his career. Upon his passing, he was a customer service manager at Frontier Communications, a company he worked at for 12 years in a variety of leadership positions. He has supervised as many as 10 supervisors with up to as many as 250 employees.
As a manager, Derek invested in people and always looked for ways to help everyone succeed. He would fight to the end for his staff and employees.
Derek's hobbies included shooting pool, golfing, skiing, watching his favorite team "The Baltimore Ravens", and travel. In the past few months, he participated in several pool tournaments, which gave him much joy.
A fun-loving, upbeat person, who loved to make people laugh, and lived life on his own terms, Derek left a lasting impression on everyone he interacted with. He has been described by those who have come in contact with him as "a beautiful soul", "the nicest man" and a "beautiful spirit".
In 2021, Derek was diagnosed with lung cancer. He handled his condition with positivity and grace. Since he didn't want to burden anyone, he didn't share his diagnosis widely. He worked up until a week before his passing, which gave him a sense of normalcy and fulfillment.
A beloved son and brother, he leaves to cherish his memory, his parents, Sarah Ann Hurt and Willie Burnell Hurt, of Germantown, TN: his sister and brother-in-law, Tiffany LaSha Whitener and Mike Lee Whitener Jr., of Alpharetta, GA; and a host of uncles, aunts, cousins, friends, and co-workers.
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