John Hurst

HURST, Jr., John Craig

John Craig Hurst, Jr., 88, of Marietta, Georgia, passed away peacefully at his memory care home on Friday, October 24, 2025. Craig, who went by his middle name, was born in Asheville, North Carolina, and grew up in Sumter, South Carolina. He spoke reverently and lovingly of his friends, family, and time in Sumter, playing baseball, golf, and helping out in the Hurst family businesses as a teenager. Craig graduated from Edmunds High School (now Sumter High School) in Sumter in 1955. He was a 1959 graduate of The Citadel then served active duty in the United States Army before attending graduate-level classes at the University of South Carolina. Craig was a Certified Financial Analyst (CFA) by profession and a member in his younger years of the CFA Society of Atlanta. He was a volunteer with the Golden Retriever Rescue of Atlanta, a member of the Atlanta Country Club, and an excellent, lifelong golfer. Other than playing golf, Craig enjoyed Edisto Island, keeping an eye on the markets, family history, Golden Retrievers, and watching Jaylen Brown play basketball at Wheeler High School in Marietta, GA then with the Boston Celtics on TV. Craig is survived by a daughter, Grayson Hurst Daughters; a granddaughter, Ava Grayson Daughters; his first cousin, Alfred Matthews, Jr. and his wife, Pam Matthews; several second and third cousins from North Carolina; and his devoted friend, Jill Head. Craig will be laid to rest in Sumter, SC at a graveside service on Wednesday, October 29, 2025, 11 AM at Sumter Cemetery, next to his beloved parents, Reba Perry Hurst and John Craig Hurst, Sr. In lieu of flowers, please consider a donation to the Golden Retriever Rescue of Atlanta.