HURD, Peter M., 79, Dec. 16, 2015.
Memorial and burial services will be held in the spring. Ar- rangements by Bowers Funeral Home, Houlton.
HOULTON — Peter Mansfield Hurd, 79, of Houlton ME, passed away on December 16, 2015, after a courageous battle with Alzheimer’s. Peter was surrounded by family at the time of his passing at an assisted care facility in Ormond Beach, FL. Peter was the loving husband of Alma Jean (Dwyer) Hurd of Orient, ME, for 61 and a half years.
He was born on November 19, 1936 in Houlton, the son of the late Norman Arthur and Frances Vivian (Mansfield) Hurd, and was preceded in death by his sister, Beverly (Hurd) Euerle and his grandson, Peter James Lannan.
Peter grew up in Houlton, graduating from Houlton High School in 1954. He earned his Bachelor’s degree from Parks Air College in St. Louis, MO and Masters Degree in Business Administration from George Washington University in Washington, DC. “Pete”, as friends and family called him, was commissioned into the United States Air Force in 1957, assigned as an Electronic Warfare Officer on B-52 bombers with the Strategic Air Command and RC-135s of the 55th Strategic Reconnaissance Wing. In 1968-69, he served his country in Vietnam with Detachment 1, MACV-SOG /Special Operations Group, First Flight Squadron flying covert missions in the highly modified C-123K earning him the wings of “Air Comm-ando”. Pete retired from the USAF in 1979 after his assignment to the Office of the Under-secretary of Defense at the Pentagon in Arlington, Va., after 22 years of honorable service to his country. After retirement, Pete returned to Houlton as a Defense contractor with Detachment 2, “Big Safari” program and later taught students at the Greater Houlton Christian Academy about Aviation and Amateur “Ham” Radio.
Peter is survived by his loving wife, Alma Jean; and his four children, Gordon Mansfield Hurd, Andrea Jean Lannan, Steven Charles Hurd and Wendy Ann Pugh. He always enjoyed and loved his 13 grandchildren and 14 great-grandchildren.
In lieu of flowers, the family requests that memorial contributions may be made in Pete’s name to the “Wounded Warrior Project” at P.O. Box 758517, Topeka, KS 66675 or to the Alzheimer’s Association Maine Chapter, 383 US Route 1, Suite 2C, Scarborough, ME 04074. Memorial and burial services will be held in the spring. For online condolences please visit www.bowersfuneral.com.
