Shepherdstown mourns the loss of lifetime resident Jay Hurley

Hurley

SHEPHERDSTOWN — Jay Hurley was born in Shepherdstown in 1941, upstairs above O’Hurley’s General Store, which was founded by Hurley’s father, Milburn Glenn, over 100 years ago.

Hurley, who continued the family business, served his community in many ways and welcomed countless visitors to town, passed away over the holiday weekend. The loss leaves a hole in the heart of the town and an empty space never to be filled again.

Hurley’s store offered a little bit of everything — from old-fashioned toys to cookware to vinyl records. In its early days, it was also a grocery store for many, a place to purchase gasoline and the site of a working blacksmith for those whose horses needed new shoes.

O’Hurley’s was also a place to gather, not just for shopping but to share music. On Thursday evenings, the place welcomed all to a folk music jam session.

As word began to spread of Hurley’s passing, residents, town officials, former employees and more began to share stories of their friend, Jay Hurley. Many were quick to point out his love for the town.

“I guess you could say that Shepherdstown has lost another icon,” Shepherdstown Fire Chief Ross Morgan said. “He was a good friend of the fire department, and he really loved this town. He was always doing things to preserve the history and to make it a show place.”

Hurley had a keen interest in history and was always willing to share what he knew. Former employee Tiffanie Morris Lugo commented on how much she learned from her boss.

“I learned so much about the history of Shepherdstown when I worked for Jay,” she said. “He would tell me stories about the other businesses in town and his childhood,”

“During my tenure with the police department, I spoke with Mr. Hurley almost daily,” shared former Police Chief Dave Ransom. “He was a generous and giving soul who always had something positive to say and a lot of history about the town to share.”

Friends Nick and Joanie Blanton had many memories to share, beginning with their first meeting in 1983, when Nick needed a shop space to build instruments, and Joanie wanted someplace with a traditional music scene.

“Jay could be a hero,” Nick said, sharing how the store owner offered a temporary place for the Blantons to reside after they lost their home to a fire. “He could be generous. He was happy to let you use his shop, and all sorts of guys did. You’d have to find some space in the clutter, of course, and if you needed a tool, you’d have to find it and then likely, you would have to fix it, too, but the door was usually open.”

Nick went on to comment on many projects Hurley started — some of which he finished, some he did not. Among them was a replica of the Rumsey steamboat, a venture the two worked on together.

“It turned out to be far too capricious and exhausting. I don’t think our friendship really survived building and running it,” Nick said. “But though he started far more than any mortal human could ever complete, I can’t think of anyone who got more fun from even his half-completed projects.”

“He really made history come alive and did much to showcase it in his famous country store. The Shepherdstown sign that he built, literally from the bottom up using authentic methods, was truly an impressive effort,” said Mike Austin, adding that Hurley paid for every penny of the sign’s construction.

It was also Hurley’s love of music that drew many to him.

“As someone who tried to make music and dance things happen in Shepherdstown, Jay sometimes became a partner for my ideas and had special touches all of his own,” Joanie said. “His jam session was something that I am sure many folks will remember best, creating a space where local musicians could play together on Thursday nights and lots of people could come by and watch.”

According to Joanie, Hurley also loved to emcee events, such as dulcimer festivals she organized.

“He had a radio voice like nobody else,” she recalled. “Although he spent most of his life living in the house he was born in, he somehow captured and brought the world into his home.”

Local historian Jim Surkamp recalled when, in 2000, the Israeli Cabinet and a Syrian delegation were in town for the peace talks, he invited the foreign journalists to an event — which Hurley and his network of friends from the Thursday night jams, along with the Baha’I, worked to make successful.

“They took it far beyond my wildest dreams,” Surkamp said, as he shared that food and music welcomed the people, as the flags from their countries hung from the ceiling above them. “All the hammered dulcimers, fiddles and harp and songs spun ’round and ’round, weaving a spell — this effortless, free offering from dozens of happy, perfect strangers. That was the Jay way.”

“He was definitely one of our most memorable characters and someone that Shepherdstown will be much poorer without,” Joanie said.

No funeral arrangement information was available as of press time.