Obituary of Loretta Santora Hurley

Loretta S. “Lollie” Hurley passed away peacefully on September 21st, 2022, at Health First’s Cape Canaveral Hospital, after suffering a stroke the previous week. Lollie was born on February 29th, 1936 in Greenwich, Connecticut, the daughter of Carmella Judice Santora (d. 1999); her biological father, Laurence Santora, died before her birth due to a workplace accident. Lollie remained fatherless until 1952 when her mother married Martin W. Kordas, who remained a central figure in her life until his death in 2003. Lollie graduated from the Academy of the Resurrection in Rye, NY, in 1954. She then attended the New York Medical College’s Flower-Fifth Avenue School of Nursing, winning her cap in 1957. In 1964 she entered the U.S. Air Force, was commissioned a Lieutenant in the Nursing Corps, and achieved the aeronautical rating of Flight Nurse. It was in that capacity she met her future husband, Air Force pilot trainee Vincent J. Hurley, at Moody AFB, Georgia. Lollie and Vince were wed on September 18, 1965, beginning 55 years of marriage. Lollie was always driven by an impulse to serve and an eagerness to explore. While raising three children she achieved leadership positions in the Beta Sigma Phi sorority, the Boy Scouts of America, and Officers Wives’ Clubs at multiple Air Force bases. In her copious spare time she also taught English in Japan, helped manage her children’s athletic teams, and participated in a traditional Japanese dance troupe. She resumed her nursing career as her children entered their teenage years, first at the U.S. Army hospital at Ft. Belvoir, Virginia, where she was decorated with the Army Civilian Achievement Medal, and then as the head nurse at Central Brevard OB/GYN in Melbourne, Florida, where she earned her RN certification. Along the way, she completed a degree in History from Brevard Community College in 2001. Later in life she became increasingly active in the Council of Catholic Women and the Secular Franciscan Order, as well as organizations supporting cancer survivors and research. Lollie was an avid traveler whose journeys included three years traversing Japan and the Western Pacific, one of the first trips to China following the resumption of tourism in 1981, and a pilgrimage to Rome in 1996. She was a frequent “cruiser” who looked forward to her annual sea voyages with her husband, other family members, and friends. Finally, with her passing the New York Mets and Dallas Cowboys have lost arguably their biggest fan. Lollie was preceded in death by her husband, Lt. Col. Vincent J. Hurley, and eldest son, Vincent D. Hurley, both of whom passed away in September 2020. She is survived by her sons Matthew and Brian, their wives Rebecca and Lori, and seven grandchildren. She will be missed, and her memory cherished, by all who knew her.