Christine Anne Hurst

Christine Anne Ales Hurst, age 66, of Custer, WA, passed away at her home Saturday, November 15, 2014. Chris was born April 14, 1948 to Lawrence and Rose Marie (Neuzil) Ales and grew up on a farm in Iowa. She excelled in math and sports in school, as well as playing the trumpet in concert and marching band. She also enjoyed racing horses on the farm with her sister Diane. Chris attended the University of Iowa where she made many friends. After completing equestrian training at a school on the East Coast, she worked for the Dow Family in Michigan, helping raise Arabian horses. After a couple of years there, she worked on a horse ranch in New Mexico where she was active in the breeding and showing of horses. When she visited her sister Diane in Richmond, BC, she met her future husband, Charles (Chuck) Hurst. Chris and Chuck moved to their property near Custer in 1980, declaring that they had found their "heaven on earth." They enjoyed hunting and fishing until they started raising their own ducks and geese and found it too difficult to shoot ones they knew so well. Chris was active in the Pyrenees Dog Club in Vancouver, BC, the Mount Baker Kennel Club, and the Whatcom County Master Gardener Foundation, giving many hours of volunteer time to her much loved animals and gardening. She raised and showed many Great Pyrenees dogs, forming like-minded friends along the way. In the Whatcom County Master Gardener Foundation she volunteered at the Hovander County Park in the demonstration garden and greenhouse. She also was responsible for acquiring many of the speakers for Master Gardener Meetings and planning and carrying out fun trips from Dan Hinkley's Heronswood Nursery on Bainbridge Island  to Thomas Hobb's nursery in Vancouver, BC. She shared her love of nursery shopping and acquiring rare plants with all she met. Chris is survived by many wonderful friends and family. Her sisters, Shelley Fishwild (Ken), Diane Vinsel (Mark), Rebecca Hammann (Steve), Patricia Durkop (Paul); brother, Steve Ales (Jan) are scattered across the country. She is also survived by her niece Alicia Edgington and family, nephew Jim Vinsel and family, nieces Lisa Fishwild Hale and family and Laura Caruso and husband Stephen, nephews Dallas and Dane Durkop, nephews Chris Ales and family and Joseph Ales. She is also survived by Chuck's brother John Hurst (Ann) and nephews Luke and Matthew and families. A memorial service will be planned at a later date. In lieu of flowers, please consider a donation to the animal welfare organization of your choice.