Though she helped pioneer the first public service announcement about breastfeeding and helped hundreds of people better manage their money, Mary Hurt would have considered her biggest legacy to be her children and grandchildren.
Mary Hurt was born Mary Therese Rudnik, the second youngest of the eight children of Rose and John Rudnik on the North Side of Chicago. She grew up in a poor household, as eight children were a lot to manage, but her family life was lively and cultured, as her two uncles, the Rev. Jim Voss and the Rev. Harry Voss, would often discuss theology and philosophy around the dinner table. Mary graduated from St. Benedict’s High School, and she became the first woman in her family who was not a nun to attend college. She graduated from Rosary College, now Dominican University, in 1965.
After graduating college, she worked for the League of Arab Nations Chicago office, was a case worker for the City of Chicago, and then became a middle school teacher for the Carpentersville School District.
On Sept. 11, 1964, her brother-in-law William Neven, a Chicago police officer, was shot and killed in the line of duty. She moved in with her sister Dorothy to help her with her eight children.
After graduating college, her best friend Marion dragged her to a Chicago Social Dance. It was there that Tom Hurt asked her to dance and then bought her a cocktail. She didn’t realize that was special because Tom Hurt never bought anyone cocktails - and she was a cutie, who was used to having men offer her drinks.
She married Tom in 1968, and Mary stayed home for a while to raise their three girls. Besides teaching religious education at St. John the Apostle Church in Villa Park, she also was a volunteer leader, editor, and conference chair for La Leche League International. She introduced her daughters’ classes to great art as the art lady, who taught the children about famous paintings, and she volunteered in several Girl Scout troops.
Her daughters benefitted from her encouragement for them to forge their own paths and explore their own interests. She always had the door open to their many friends, as well as girls who came from difficult homes through her volunteer work, and they all considered her to be their second mom.
Mary also was a published freelance writer who wrote about parenting. When her accountant husband’s side gig doing taxes grew, she started doing taxes, and she went back to school to get her masters in financial planning and became a CFP. At the time she did this, she was one of only a handful of female financial planners in the country.
Her favorite part of doing taxes was getting to know her clients and their families, and she knew the name of everyone’s child and pet. She also specialized in helping women and families manage their finances. Many times, she had to show her clients that the cost of daycare wasn’t enough to justify full-time employment, and that it might be easier (and more financially sound) to work part-time for a while. But Mary never judged anyone - she only sought to help women choose what is right for their situations.
Eventually, as she still volunteered at La Leche League, she was hired as a public relations associate, and there, she helped pioneer the very first breastfeeding public service announcement.
After she sort of retired, she and Tom biked around the world, including a memorable trip meeting Steve Forbes in New Zealand. She and Tom also achieved the rank of “Gold Life Master” by the American Contract Bridge League. As a couple, they also started playing bridge around the world, on cruises, and even online.
Then, her daughters became mothers, and Mary became everyone’s favorite grandma. In her last decade and a half of life, she considered it her life purpose to be a grandmother. Umma Mary, Baba Mary and Grandma Mary was their favorite grandparent, as she babysat them, traveled with and to them, told stories with them, and did the same teaching Passover dinners with them that she shared with her religious education classes. When asked what she loved about each of them, she replied “They’re just so cute - all of them.”
Though Mary’s accomplishments tell part of her story, a great part of her story was her kindness. Mary was genuinely interested in hearing everyone’s story, and she listened with her heart. She would find connections with people who came from vastly different cultures and places, and she would enjoy learning about who they were.
Mary was a huge Chicago sports fan. Mary was a die-hard Cubs fan, who grew up attending games in the bleachers, and Tom was a die-hard Sox fan, and they used to joke that this caused more problems in their relationship than the fact that Mary was Catholic, and Tom had been Protestant. Although Tom eventually converted to Catholicism, Mary never converted to become a Sox fan.
The two of them, however, both loved the Chicago Bulls, and they enjoyed watching them win the NBA championship in 1996 at the United Center.
Mary’s wit and humor will be remembered. She had a contagious laugh, and she could find something funny in absolutely any kind of situation. More recently, when she was receiving Sacrament of the Sick during one of her many hospital stays, she told the priest “My brother was a priest, and when he offered this sacrament, the man survived for another 20 years. You have a lot to live up to.”
This positive attitude helped her carry the burden of suffering from a rare lung cancer for the last four years of her life. Her family would especially like to thank the Key of Chicago for their kind and loving caregivers, especially Maudine, Sara, Laura, Ayla, Naomi, and Violetta, and they would like to thank St. Croix Hospice, especially nurses Michelle and Mel. They also would like to express their appreciation for all of her health care team including the nursing staff at Good Samaritan and Elmhurst Hospitals, as well as Dr. Mark Isoneimi and Dr. Daniel Frank and their staff.
Besides her brother-in-law, she is preceded in death by her parents, six of her siblings (Donald, Dorothy, Thomas, Martha, John, and Joseph), her nephews Bill and Michael Neven, Michael Poremba Sr., and her sister-in-law Karen Rudnick. She also is preceded in death by three family dogs: Sandy, Allegro and Jordan—and Jordan was her favorite. Of the rescued golden retriever who ate wall paper and wedding shoes, she would always tell him, “Jordan, you’re a sweet boy, but you’re not a good boy.”
She is survived by her husband, Thomas, her daughters Jeanette Hurt (Kyle Edwards), Julie Hurt Knorr (Joseph Knorr), and Karen Mahan (Jim Mahan), and her grandchildren Quinn Edwards, Briana Mahan, Patrick Knorr, and Sloane Mahan. She is survived by her beloved younger brother, Bernie Rudnik, her sister-in-law Marge Rudnik, and her very much-loved nieces and nephews, grand nieces and nephews, and great-grand nieces and nephews. She is also survived by three grand-dogs: Pippen, Lyra, and Marshall, two grand-cats: Jet and Bluey, and one grand-hamster, Gus-Gus.
A wake will be held at Brust Funeral Home, 135 S. Main St., Lombard, IL, from 3 p.m. to 9 p.m. on September 3, 2026. A funeral Mass will be held at St. James the Apostle Church, 480 S. Park Blvd., Glen Ellyn, IL, at 10 a.m. September 4, 2026. Burial will follow at St. Michael Cemetery, 1109 Warrenville Rd., Wheaton. In lieu of flowers, you can donate to Lilies of Hope, Wright-Way Rescue, Midwest Labrador Retriever Rescue, Cause for Paws, and Cat Guardians.
Info at www.brustfuneralhome.com or 888-629-0094.
