MICHAEL RICHARD HURST, of Atlanta, Georgia, died on Tuesday, September 29, 2026. An Atlanta native and the son of the late Harris I. Hurst and Helen Winn Hurst, Michael was a lifelong parishioner of the Basilica of the Sacred Heart of Jesus, where he was baptized, received First Communion, and was confirmed.
Michael graduated from Marist High School in Brookhaven, Georgia, in 1964, where the Hurst family has attended over the last hundred years and across four generations. He was a member of the first class on the Brookhaven campus and an all-city basketball player under Coach Pete Combs. Family members who attended Marist include his father, Harris Hurst ’20; his uncles William Hawthorne Hurst ’22 and John Winn ’29; his brothers Joe Hurst ’46, Bob Hurst ’49, and John Hurst ’62, and his sister Patsy Hurst; his children Eric Hurst ’88, Zac Hurst ’97, and Elizabeth Hurst Ruth ’03; his nephews Clay Hurst ’69 and Joe Hurst; and his great-nephews Cale Pascoli ’95, Lawson Pascoli, and John Pascoli ’05.
A graduate of the University of Georgia, Michael served honorably in the United States Air Force during the Vietnam era. He then devoted his life to the law, first as a senior partner at Heyman & Sizemore and later as head litigator for Blue Cross Blue Shield of Georgia, where he helped establish precedents at the forefront of healthcare law. He spent a lifetime involved in the civic life of Brookhaven.
Michael was the beloved husband of Ellen Burns Hurst, his wife of 57 years. He is survived by Ellen; his son Eric Hurst and daughter-in-law Erin; his son Zac Hurst and daughter-in-law Christian; his daughter Elizabeth Hurst Ruth and son-in-law Brent Ruth; and his seven grandchildren, Aiden Hurst, Bolton Ruth, Vivienne Hurst, Dean Ruth, Duke Hurst, Owen Erbeck, and Henry Erbeck. He was preceded in death by his brothers Harris Joseph Hurst, Robert Winn Hurst, and John A. Hurst, and his sister Patsy Hurst Sheahan.
The family will receive friends from 5:00 P.M. to 6:00 P.M. on Monday, October 5 at H. M. Patterson & Son, Oglethorpe, and a Rosary will be held at 6:00 P.M. A Memorial Mass will be celebrated on Tuesday, October 6, 2026, at 10:00 a.m. at the Basilica of the Sacred Heart of Jesus.
In lieu of flowers, the family asks that donations be made to the Marist Athletic Association in his name.
