Roxanna Leah Hurst

Roxanna Leah Hurst (nee Love), Age 90, of Penns Grove, NJ passed away peacefully among family on January 14, 2024. Roxanna was born in Mt. Pleasant, PA on December 13th, 1933 to parents Kenneth Charles and Opal Elvira Love. Roxanna and her parents moved to Scottdale, PA where she met her future husband Dick when they were five years old. She did not see him until years later when they started dating in high school. Roxanna and Dick graduated from Scottdale High School in 1955 and both attended Indiana State Teacher’s College (IUP) where Roxanna graduated with a B.A. in Art Education. Roxanna taught briefly in Uniontown, PA while Dick was drafted into the Navy. They were married in Scottdale and their honeymoon was driving to California to Dick’s assignment on the USS Yorktown. Roxanna and Dick moved to Penns Grove NJ in the late 50’s where she soon became a beloved elementary, middle, and high school arts and music teacher for 34 years. Some of her accomplishments included serving as President of the AAUW Salem Chapter, first Vice President of the Salem County Arts Alliance, as well as President of the Penns Grove-Carneys Point School Employees Association. She chaired the development of the District’s Gifted and Talented program and co-coordinated the Salem County Teen Arts Festival. She was President of the Penns Grove – Carneys Point School Employees Association. She had received a Master’s degree in Secondary Teaching (Art) from Glassboro State College with a Supervision Certification. She was an Odyssey of the Mind coach while at Penns Grove High School. She co-founded The Fox Tale Players and was a founding member of ‘The Stompin’ Grannies’. She designed sets and performed for numerous area theatres, and operated her own business, Floral Fancies. She was a member of Sigma Sigma Sigma, and Phi Beta Kappa sororities. She was a member of the Red Hat Society, also a member and past President of the Woman’s Club of Penns Grove – Carneys Point. She enjoyed nothing more than the time spent with lifelong friends and family. She was predeceased by her parents: Opal Elvira Miller and Kenneth Charles Love; husband, Harry Richard Hurst III; daughter, Elizabeth Catharine; and brother, Lynn Sutton Love. She is survived by her brother, Malcolm Scott Love (Christine); her children, Harry Richard “Skip” Hurst IV (Pam), and Gretchen Love Hurst-Murtha (Jim); and her grandchildren, Ian, Caitlin, Charles, and Liam. In lieu of flowers, please consider contributions to the American Cancer Society, The National MS Society, or the Autism Society of America.

Roxanna Leah Hurst

December 13, 1933 - January 14, 2024