GARY RANCE HURLEY JR.
Oct. 19, 1973-Sept. 29, 2017
Gary Rance Hurley Jr., 43, left this world Friday, Sept. 29, 2017, at his home in Goldsboro after succumbing to a lengthy battle with addiction.
Born Oct. 19, 1973, in Thomasville, Ga., as the only son to Gloria Elaine Hurley and the late Gary Rance Hurley Sr., he is survived by his mother and three sisters, Lisa Hurtado, Tonya Smith and husband, Robert, and Dee Hurley-Holmes and wife, Donna.
Rance, as he was commonly called, also left behind his girlfriend and soulmate, Robin Hill, as well as 13 adoring nieces and nephews.
Always the competitive spirit, Rance was a frequent spectator of professional and collegiate sports, particularly the NFL's 49ers and UNC's Carolina Tar Heels, respectively.
He also enjoyed "The Young and the Restless" and table poker, and found pride in keeping the garden up to par.
He found pleasure in talking to the younger generation, and was firm in his assertions that a mile in his shoes was not a path they wished to walk.
Rance's struggles mirrored that of many seized by the lifeless grips of addiction, and he lived in a constant state of denial and doubt that prevented him from seeing himself as capable of exiting its grasp.
The love that he had for his family wasn't enough to combat the emptiness present in his mind, and he, like millions of other addicts in this world today, desperately and aggressively sought a filler for that void that never came. His search for peace came to a close one fateful Friday afternoon.
This obituary is not only dedicated to Rance's unfortunate end to his journey for closure, but to the countless others infested with the vile disease we know as addiction, and to the hopeful end of the social stigma that comes with substance dependency.
It is with the family's utmost respect to the life and struggle of Rance Hurley that we share a message of understanding and patience in hopes that those who face a similar battle can turn toward a family of wise words and open arms, and fear not the ridicule and shame that has become so common in today's opinion of drug addiction.
(Pd)
Published in Obituaries on October 3, 2017 8:05 AM