Remembering WSU’s Dean Hurst: ‘He was extraordinary’
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- Dean Hurst at Weber State University’s Stewart Bell Tower Plaza on Aug. 26, 2021.
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- An undated scrapbook photo of Dean Hurst.
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- Dean Hurst and Weber State University mascot Waldo the Wildcat in an undated photo.
OGDEN — A prominent figure in the history of Weber State University has passed away.
Dean Hurst, a Weber College graduate whose efforts as a staff member and lifelong supporter of WSU remain tangible today, died Jan. 14, the university announced Tuesday. He was 97 years old.
Hurst’s career at WSU began in 1967 when he transitioned from a successful career in art and advertising into a dual role as the first director of alumni relations and development director. He later assumed the role of vice president of college relations.
“I worked for (the advertising agency) Pierson, Kearney and Hurst for 13 or 14 years and loved my time there, but after my 40th birthday I had an impression in the middle of the night that I should contact Weber College,” Hurst said in a 2003 oral history.
That late-night prompting dictated the direction Hurst’s life would take for the next 24 years and beyond. He remained at WSU until his retirement in 1991, having left an indelible mark on the institution.
“His work in advancement would help raise funds for some of the most iconic structures on Weber State University’s Ogden campus, including the Stewart Bell Tower and Dee Events Center,” John Kowalewski, executive director of marketing and communications, relayed to the Standard-Examiner.
Even during his time at WSU, though, art continued to be one of the focal points of Hurst’s life.
“He used to do all the programs for the Big Sky Conference,” daughter Kristen Hurst-Hyde told the Standard-Examiner. “He did great caricatures. He was a great commercial artist; he did the logos for so many businesses, including Myers Mortuary. He kept up his artwork all his life.”
In 1998, the Hurst Artist-in-Residence program was established thanks to an endowment from Hurst and his wife, Carol. The program brought artists and scholars of renown to WSU to work and interact with students.
Hurst also was responsible for creating another pillar of the WSU experience, school mascot Waldo the Wildcat, having suggested the addition to WSU Athletics in 1959 and, later, drawn the concept art for the character, per The Signpost.
“I don’t know how to sum him up — he was extraordinary,” Hurst-Hyde said of her late father. “He was good at everything. It’s not just that he was diverse, it’s that he was so excellent at everything he did. He was an excellent artist, an excellent fundraiser, an excellent administrator, an excellent community leader and church leader.”
In addition to his work with WSU, Hurst served — at various times throughout his life — as president of the Ogden Rotary Club, president of the Ogden Advertising & Sales Club, chairman of the Pioneer Day Parade, as a member of the board of directors of the Ogden Symphony Guild, as well as the board of directors of the Ogden Red Cross, and in numerous other leadership roles.
He was part of the U.S. Army’s 82nd Airborne Division from 1945-46 and was an avid outdoorsman and world traveler. Hurst was also an active member of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints throughout his life, having served a Japanese-speaking church mission in the Central Pacific and was later a bishop, from 1969-72.
Hurst’s appreciation for and application of the arts also extended to poetry readings and drama. Hurst-Hyde told the Standard-Examiner that songs from “The Music Man” will be played to open and close her father’s funeral.
Memorial services for Hurst are scheduled for Feb. 3.