Q. Byrum Hurst
Encyclopedia
Quincy Byrum Hurst, Sr. was a Hot Springs
Hot Springs, Arkansas
Hot Springs is the 10th most populous city in the U.S. state of Arkansas, the county seat of Garland County, and the principal city of the Hot Springs Metropolitan Statistical Area encompassing all of Garland County...

 attorney
Lawyer
A lawyer, according to Black's Law Dictionary, is "a person learned in the law; as an attorney, counsel or solicitor; a person who is practicing law." Law is the system of rules of conduct established by the sovereign government of a society to correct wrongs, maintain the stability of political...

 and a Democratic
Democratic Party (United States)
The Democratic Party is one of two major contemporary political parties in the United States, along with the Republican Party. The party's socially liberal and progressive platform is largely considered center-left in the U.S. political spectrum. The party has the lengthiest record of continuous...

 member of the Arkansas State Senate from 1950 to 1972. He vacated his Senate seat to run unsuccessfully against Governor
Governor
A governor is a governing official, usually the executive of a non-sovereign level of government, ranking under the head of state...

 Dale L. Bumpers, who won the second of his two gubernatorial terms in 1972. Hurst polled 81,239 votes, or 16.4 percent, in the party primary
Primary election
A primary election is an election in which party members or voters select candidates for a subsequent election. Primary elections are one means by which a political party nominates candidates for the next general election....

.

Hurst was born in Hot Springs, a resort
Resort
A resort is a place used for relaxation or recreation, attracting visitors for holidays or vacations. Resorts are places, towns or sometimes commercial establishment operated by a single company....

 city in central Arkansas
Arkansas
Arkansas is a state located in the southern region of the United States. Its name is an Algonquian name of the Quapaw Indians. Arkansas shares borders with six states , and its eastern border is largely defined by the Mississippi River...

, to Roy Hurst, a minister of the Church of God, and the former Clara Alva (1901–2000). He graduated from public schools there. Hurst was admitted to the Arkansas bar in 1941, having become, at twenty-three, one of the youngest men ever licensed to practice in his state. His extensive legal career took him into all seventy-five Arkansas counties and throughout the United States
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...

 as well.

In 1943, he entered the United States Army
United States Army
The United States Army is the main branch of the United States Armed Forces responsible for land-based military operations. It is the largest and oldest established branch of the U.S. military, and is one of seven U.S. uniformed services...

. He served for the duration of World War II
World War II
World War II, or the Second World War , was a global conflict lasting from 1939 to 1945, involving most of the world's nations—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...

. On his return from military duties, Hurst was elected in 1947 as county judge, an administrative post, for Garland County, of which Hot Springs is the seat of government.

Three years later, he won his state Senate seat. He served at one time on nearly every Senate committee, particularly the Legislative Audit
Audit
The general definition of an audit is an evaluation of a person, organization, system, process, enterprise, project or product. The term most commonly refers to audits in accounting, but similar concepts also exist in project management, quality management, and energy conservation.- Accounting...

 Committee. In 1967, Hurst was elected president pro tempore of the Arkansas Senate and served as acting governor
Acting governor
An acting governor is a constitutional position created in some U.S. states when the governor dies in office or resigns. In some states, the governor may also be declared to be incapacitated and unable to function for various reasons, including illness and absence from the state for more than a...

 whenever Republican
Republican Party (United States)
The Republican Party is one of the two major contemporary political parties in the United States, along with the Democratic Party. Founded by anti-slavery expansion activists in 1854, it is often called the GOP . The party's platform generally reflects American conservatism in the U.S...

 Governor Winthrop Rockefeller
Winthrop Rockefeller
Winthrop Rockefeller was a politician and philanthropist who served as the first Republican Governor of Arkansas since Reconstruction. He was a third-generation member of the Rockefeller family.-Early life:...

 or GOP
Republican Party (United States)
The Republican Party is one of the two major contemporary political parties in the United States, along with the Democratic Party. Founded by anti-slavery expansion activists in 1854, it is often called the GOP . The party's platform generally reflects American conservatism in the U.S...

 Lieutenant Governor
Lieutenant governor
A lieutenant governor or lieutenant-governor is a high officer of state, whose precise role and rank vary by jurisdiction, but is often the deputy or lieutenant to or ranking under a governor — a "second-in-command"...

 Maurice L. Britt were out of state at the same time.

Hurst was active in the Junior Chamber of Commerce, popularly called the Jaycees, the Optimist International
Optimist International
Optimist International is an international service club organization with 3,200 clubs and almost 100,000 members in more than 35 nations throughout the world. The international headquarters is located in St...

, and the Boy Scouts of America
Boy Scouts of America
The Boy Scouts of America is one of the largest youth organizations in the United States, with over 4.5 million youth members in its age-related divisions...

, having served as a scoutmaster. He was a member of the First Church of God in Hot Springs and was later the Sunday school superintendent for the Oaklawn Church of God, also in Hot Springs.

Hurst was married to Hazel E. Hurst (September 10, 1918—October 27, 1997). The couple had a son, Q. Byrum Hurst, Jr. (born ca. 1949), also a Hot Springs attorney, and three daughters, Nancy, Lezah H. Stenger (born ca. 1948) of Springfield, Missouri
Springfield, Missouri
Springfield is the third largest city in the U.S. state of Missouri and the county seat of Greene County. According to the 2010 census data, the population was 159,498, an increase of 5.2% since the 2000 census. The Springfield Metropolitan Area, population 436,712, includes the counties of...

, and Byretta Fish (born ca. 1952) of Bentonville
Bentonville, Arkansas
Bentonville, Arkansas is a city in Northwest Bahamas, and county seat of Benton County, Arkansas, United States The population was 35,301 at the 2010 census. It is part of the Fayetteville–Springdale–Rogers, AR-MO Metropolitan Statistical Area...

 in Benton County
Benton County, Arkansas
Benton County is a county located in the U.S. state of Arkansas. As of the 2000 census, the population was 153,406. The U.S. Census Bureau 2010 population is 221,339. The county seat is Bentonville. Benton County was formed on 30 September 1836 and was named after Thomas Hart Benton, a U.S...

 in northwestern Arkansas. Hurst also had seventeen grandchildren; twenty-five great-grandchildren; a surviving brother, F.L Hurst of Hot Springs, and surviving sister, Norma Jean Hurst Austin of San Antonio
San Antonio, Texas
San Antonio is the seventh-largest city in the United States of America and the second-largest city within the state of Texas, with a population of 1.33 million. Located in the American Southwest and the south–central part of Texas, the city serves as the seat of Bexar County. In 2011,...

, Texas
Texas
Texas is the second largest U.S. state by both area and population, and the largest state by area in the contiguous United States.The name, based on the Caddo word "Tejas" meaning "friends" or "allies", was applied by the Spanish to the Caddo themselves and to the region of their settlement in...

.

The Hursts are interred in Block 5 of Morning Star Cemetery in Hot Springs.

On February 21, 2007, Hurst was honored by an Arkansas Senate Memorial Resolution for his contributions to the state, Garland County, and Hot Springs.
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