She was born on October 7, 1921 in Sturgis, Mississippi. Her parents were Roy and Molly Williams of Ackerman, where she spent her happy childhood. Mable was married to Ben Hurt of Louisville, and they moved to Pontotoc, in 1952, where Ben established the Pontotoc Agricultural Experiment Station. There they reared four daughters: Betty Jane, Dianne, Kathy and Ruth.
Graduating high school at age 16, Mable enrolled at Mississippi State College for Women (now MUW). She was a proud graduate in 1942 with a degree in Home Economics. Mable began a teaching career at All Saints College in Vicksburg where she taught Biology and Home Economics. There she discovered her love for teaching Science and continued teaching in the sciences for 21 years, retiring with the Pontotoc City Schools. Many of her students have remembered how she incorporated social skills, etiquette, and a moral lesson with a Bible Proverb and a Thought for the day into her “Science” curriculum. Mable always shared her love for the Lord and her love for family and friends.
After retirement, Mable enjoyed her passion for writing and published an autobiography, It’s the Journey that Counts. She also wrote short stories for inclusion in Ole Miss’s Southern Studies publication and in Mississippi Magazine.
Mable is survived by her daughters: Betty Jane Gamble (Jim), Dianne Lovelady (Bill) and Ruth McMillin (Tommy). She and Ben had ten grandchildren: Amanda Gamble Jones, Greg Gamble, Ben Gamble, Niles Lovelady, Brad Lovelady, Amy Waggener Taylor, Molly Gee Waggener Webster, Neal McMillin, Ruth Allison McMillin, and Preston McMillin. Great grandchildren: William and Lauren Jones, Piper and Graydon Gamble, Samson and Joseph Gamble, Niles IV and Laura Lovelady, Bradley and Cate Lovelady, Anslee and McKinley Taylor, and Cyrena Webster, Son-in-law, Mike Waggener.
Mable Hurt is preceded in death by her beloved husband Benjamin C. Hurt, Jr.; daughter, Kathy Hurt Waggener; brother, Walton Williams and sister, Boots Norris.
Mable’s children, grandchildren, and great grandchildren readily quote “Gran’s Verse.” “This is the day which the Lord hath made; let us rejoice and be glad in it.” Psalm 118:24.
Memorials may be made to First Baptist Church, 31 Washington Street, Pontotoc, MS 38863.
