Gary P. "Nort" Hurt

 Gary P. “Nort” Hurt, age 76, passed away on May 21, 2024, at his home in Bloomer with his wife by his side.

In the spring of ‘48, April 18th to be exact, Gary Paul Hurt was born to Clifford and Eileen (Hodowanic) Hurt of Bloomer, Wisconsin. He was the fourth of seven children (Clifford Jr., Duane “Frank”, Mary, Gary, Susie, Randy, and Brad), all living in a three-bedroom home on 18th Avenue.   A consummate hard worker like his dad, Nort picked beans and cucumbers on Braden’s Farm and biked throughout Bloomer delivering newspapers when he was in grammar school.  He also raised pigeons, guinea hens and pheasants as a boy.   Keeping up with his older brothers and their friends was important to him and he always wanted to join them on their fishing and hunting excursions “up Nort”, which branded him the name that everyone knows him by.

When his father established Hurt Body Shop in 1962, Nort became an auto body man with the rest of his brothers.  A “work hard / play hard” mantra was ingrained by then.  Nort went on to also excel at sports in high school and was even voted Homecoming King (work hard).  However, he didn’t actually get to be crowned as King (too much play hard per reports).  But working in the family business had its perks.  Nort was able to purchase a used ’63 Impala SS dragster.  It was red, had a bench seat in the front, and he would go through a set of retreads in a single weekend.  Of course, this kind of attention can get a boy noticed.  He and Annie Custer started dating in 1967 after a night of dancing at the Pines.  They were married at St. Paul’s Catholic Church on May 31, 1969.  

He had found the love of his life with that Custer girl and only one thing could separate them, the Vietnam War.  Nort was drafted, went off to boot camp, and just before heading off to southeast Asia, he was called back home briefly due to his mother’s serious illness.  When he returned to the Army a short time later, they sent him to Germany.   Daughter, Tammy (Hurt) Stearns was born while he was there, but immediately took to him upon his return.   Son, Todd Hurt arrived a couple of years later.  Nort returned to Hurt Body Shop after his service and stayed in the family business until his retirement this January.  As fortune would have it, Nort and Todd were able to work side-by-side for the last 28 years.  It was obvious to those who knew him that Nort absolutely hated the transition from the beautiful cars of yesteryear to the “plastic vehicles” of today.  His common phrases were “Who designed this patent?!?” and “They don’t make them like they used to.”   

Todd will tell you that Nort’s favorite part of working at the body shop was bull#%&!ing with his customers, telling stories, and doing the quick fixes for free.  Nort’s father would paint school lockers and the team’s football helmets for no charge.   Nort continued that civic duty by painting vehicles and tractors to be auctioned off for St. Paul’s Catholic Church.   Nort also supported Todd’s love of nature and the creation of “The Pond” and “The Todd’s Mahal” (hunting shack?), where Nort would show off his hunting skills by piercing the ears of bucks.

Though he would often work more than the “standard” five days per week, Nort could otherwise be found at Hurt and Custer family activities, attending 50’s and 60’s era concerts, supporting the local bar and grills, singing “Monster Mash” or an Elvis tune on karaoke nights, or floating on a pontoon with life-long friends Dave and Diane Baier.  When at home, Nort and Annie would be planting trees, gardening, feeding the birds (squirrels), and always listening to oldies on the stereo with the volume knob at 1000, watching a good western, or enjoying a black-and-white sitcom on television.   They knew that their green acres was the place to be.

Nort became “Papa” in 1995 as he welcomed his first grandchild into the world, Jackson Alexander Stearns.  He was followed by Sawyer James Stearns and Lilia Genevieve Stearns.  Nort absolutely loved watching his grandkids grow up, attending their sport, musical, and theatrical events.  His three grandchildren meant the world to him and this was reflected by the vast amount of time he spent with them and the amount of money he would slide into their hands, every time they’d meet.  Nort was also fortunate enough to attend the weddings of Jackson and Meryl (Lenzner) and Sawyer and Courtney (Bresina) as well as get to know Jack Garlick, the love of Lilia’s life.  And, in 2021, Papa became “Papa Great” with the birth of Charlie Duke Stearns (Sawyer and Courtney).   

In these past few months, as Nort’s health began to fail, yet he continued to push through to live his life the way he always had.  He was driving to work to spend part of his day at the shop (even though he was retired), doing a little yard work, frequenting his favorite bar and grill in Tilden, investing in pull tabs, and most of all, doing it all with his love, Annie. On May 18, Nort and Annie were surrounded by their entire family, celebrating 55 years of marriage, listening to the adventures of his grandkids, learning his great grandson would be a big brother, eating chocolate cake and ice cream, and playing tunes on the jukebox.   Nort left this life just a few days later, too soon for some of us left here to mourn his passing, but he did so with a smile on his face.

And in his spirit, Annie invites those who knew and loved Nort to Bresina’s Bar and Grill in Tilden for a Celebration of Life from 2:00 to 6:00 pm on Sunday, June 2, 2024, to reminisce about all of the funny, crazy, and wonderful stories of Nort.