Donna Janet (Booth) Hurst

Accomplished serial entrepreneur with exuding bright kind love and deep faith joins angel forces.

Donna Janet (Booth) Hurst of Lakeville, Minn. was carried by angels to heaven on February 16, 2024 after a courageous and fiercely fought three and a half-year battle with stage 4 pancreatic cancer enduring more than ninety chemotherapies lasting several days each, and yet never once uttering a word of suffering. 

Janet was proceeded in death by her parents Leo and Evelyn and her brothers Calvin and Gail as well as two of her babies lost in pregnancy. Child of God, she was born on May 1, 1942, in Pierre, S.D., to Leo and Evelyn Booth. She was proud of her Viking/Norwegian Heritage.

She grew up on the open plains of South Dakota on a farm near Vivian, S.D. and loved it when it rained and also running through the open vista fields with her brothers Calvin and Gail and sister Brenda. She enjoyed fishing, building forts, and playing with their pet dog Shep. She loved seeing birds especially bald eagles, cardinals, and robins. She liked to reminisce about the antics she and Calvin would get into including nearly accidently burning down the barn playing with matches. She also told of the two of them being caught in a dangerous blizzard with snow drifts over the roof-line whereby they sought refuge and safety in a one-room school house unable to communicate with their mother who had no insights on their safety nor whereabouts for several days. She enjoyed playing basketball and graduated from Vivian High School. She then attended South Dakota State University. She warmly shared and laughed about stories with her best childhood friends Iola and Yvonne. She loved to laugh and only loved more laughing with those around her. 

Beloved and steadfast wife to Russell going on of 63 years this July 2. They met at a dance in Vivian, S.D. just after his discharge from the Army. She liked to tell us she told him 'no thank you' when he asked her to dance several times at their first meeting. Though not the same year, they have birthdays a day a part with Russell's on May 2. Together, they started their married life and family in Draper, S.D. later moving to the Minneapolis, Minnesota area to be near their kids. They weathered life's storms, built their three children and six grandchildren and businesses anchored in unwavering integrity, character, hard-work ethic, responsibility, and truth.

Devoted mother to her three children James Hurst (Teri), Julie Gilbert, John Hurst (Stefanie) and six grandchildren Nicholas, Sophie, Mikayla, Brock, Blake, and Arman as well as family favorite dog Burlee and Duke. She cherished her children and grandchildren and every conversation each day she wanted to know each were healthy, their school performance, their faith, and also their sports, martial arts, and outside passions and activities. 

She was a passionate brilliant risk-taking serial entrepreneurial founder and builder of businesses with Russell who for more than five decades worked together each and every day to build many businesses in services, hospitality, oil and gas, and product with the first being R&J Standard Oil/Amoco on Interstate 90 (exit 201) near Draper, S.D. In addition to her core values, she integrated each entrepreneurial customer insight and responsibility, financial management, and business know-how into each of James, Julie, and John. 

Janet was a co-CEO in times when that came with a lot of critique and challenge as a woman. The challenge made her a force full of perseverance and entrepreneurial confidence, hard-work, and doing what is right. She was a steadfast and trusted, insightful daily life and business coach and mentor to her kids right up to last days. And, in addition to running businesses she also flawlessly made her kids sporting events, St. Paul's Lutheran, Hope Lutheran, and Hosannah church services and events, always had the homemade foods and highly decorated cakes for the their celebrations, town and church bake sales, all the while keeping an immaculately clean home daily, To this day, we have no idea how she did all this and she never let on the weight of it all. 

She lived a life of faith-filled purpose and hard-work to ensure she and Russell gave their three kids a better life through long strenuous days and a push for education, continuous learning, and excellence. At forty-five years old, with James in college, she and Russell risked it all again with a family move to Sioux Falls, S.D. Their sole focus to push Julie and John even more in expectation, education, and opportunity. 

Proud of her children's dreams and careers John and Julie knew Jim was her favorite as he was the oldest. If she read this she would laugh and say "you guys." She had a voracious sense of humor and laughed easily and often with us. For baby son John she always carved out a separate hand-made cherry cheese cake pie at family get togethers. She cherished her daughters in law also for their love and support to her sons and also as working mothers doing it all while raising her grandchildren. 

Julie always admired her for her stunning beauty, class, strength, and incredible smart creative and entrepreneurial/vision and operator mind, as well as the unending selfless love she gave freely to her family and also complete strangers. While watching her get ready each morning as well as lead throughout the day, Julie would play dolls with her mom as Hedy Lamarr, Sophia Loren and Elizabeth Taylor for her class, stunning beauty, and intellect. She hand-sewed Julie's dresses as a little girl and loved to create and 'remake' clothing always looking like she walked off a runway. 

The loving energy she exuded to all made her the most beautiful human and soul. She greeted everyone with a big smile and loved to laugh and only loved more laughing with those around her. And, she reinforced to Julie everyday to "know and protect your self-worth and self-respect," "be strong and keep leading especially when you are getting challenge as you elevate new business growth for good and creating financial security for people and their families," and 'turn your challenges over to God."

Faith was the cornerstone and foundation of Janet's life. Her fierce and determined, unwavering belief sustained her through trials and triumphs alike. She found solace in daily frequent prayer, and her kindness radiated to all who crossed her path. She exuded warm love to everyone she came in contact with and a faith in the Lord that was deep and unshakeable. Every conversation would include a 'praise the Lord and thank you Jesus' along with each conversation ending with "God bless you.' 

She loved all music, especially country, (Elvis and Patsy Cline favorites) and was a beautiful ballroom dancer with our dad and ensured each of her kids had the opportunities to learn and enjoy music and movement as well as a foundation in healthly living and working out every day. Recently, she informed Julie and Russell to ensure nothing happened to her exercise bike as she would need it soon.

She loved to gather her family and always made large meals including hand-made mouthwatering caramel rolls and cherry cheese cake pie along with a delicious Sunday roast with all the sides. Her favorite treat was by far vanilla ice cream with chocolate syrup. She enjoyed creating customized highly decorative birthday cakes for those she loved as well as having a flourishing cake decorating and pine cone wreath business on the side of an already full plate. 

If you were to drive past a garage sale or resale shop, know she would want to stop in and see what deals they had. She loved a good deal, sharing what she found, and had a detailed log in her mind on what everything cost as well as masking tape with the price paid on the bottom of key items. And in all this she was all class in her behavior and her style. A timeless beautiful woman.

She was passionate about her kids and grandkids' educations with a push on the gas pedal for degrees, licenses, and more and more education, learning, and accomplishment. She also was unwavering on speaking truth, doing the right thing always even when it was difficult, cherishing and expecting hard work, and always elevating children. She worked out everyday, ate and cooked organic foods for us all since the 1970's when she was just 27 years old and lost her father unexpectedly of a heart-attack. She also had strong opinions on 'no booze.'

Everyday started and ended with prayers to Jesus as well as talks about the weather, politics, how our days were, and how she could help us. She loved and defended the United States and its constitution and was a passionate patriot to the country and strong supporter of our military. She also watched the weather each day and tracked storm systems across the country and put out the 'all call' to my brothers and I days before a big storm to ensure we had food and were safe. She was also always tracking the daily and "what's coming" weather with a keen eye for all the farmers and ranchers counting on good crops and healthy livestock. 

She loved to travel and experience new people, places, and culture. She and Russell enjoyed travel to Paris, France, Switzerland, Italy, Amsterdam, Egypt, Hawaii, California, New York City, Boston, Chicago, Yellowstone, and Springfield, Illinois as well as repeated favorites of the Black Hills of South Dakota where she and Russell honeymooned. Just two weeks prior to passing she sternly informed Julie not to misplace her suitcase as she looked forward to traveling again soon. 

She would greet us all with that magnetic warm smile and would first want to thank and share a long hug with each person who was a part of her life and also specifically those who prayed with and for her in her fierce battle with pancreatic cancer. She would not want us to cry for her but to celebrate life, love, and each other. Let us elevate her as a beacon of love, kindness, character, brilliance, resilience, perseverance, fierceness for life, all on a foundation of strong faith in God. May her memory and leadership example continue to inspire us each day to cherish our loved ones and embrace life's blessings. We celebrate having been chosen to be so close to her and having been her children, grandchildren, and spouses of her kids and are happy knowing she is reuniting with those lost who meant so much to her. We look forward to reuniting again with you mom, grandmother, and wife. What a privilege it will be! Not to worry at all Momma, we have only just begun elevating, building, and creating respect and equity for all. "Praise the Lord and God bless you!"

As we hugged you and kissed your forehead, cheeks, and held your head in our hands for the last time, we are the most grateful to have shared your life as your husband, children, grandchildren, sister and dear friends. "What was will be again!"

A private family service will be held at a future date. 

Cards/Notes: Please send any cherished memories of Janet to:

Russell Hurst and family, PO Box 683, 545 2nd Street, Excelsior, MN 55331-1907

Janet was passionate about education, health, and children. 

In lieu of flowers, please make memorials in her name to:

• For her passion for education: University of Minnesota Foundation: https://give.umn.edu/giving/making-gift.

For a pancreatic cancer cure: 

• The Lustgarten Foundation is the largest private funder of pancreatic cancer research in the world. https://lustgarten.org.

• American Cancer Society: https://donate.cancer.org.

For her love of children: 

• St. Jude Children's Research Hospital: https://www.stjude.org/ donate/.

• Cincinnati Children's Hospital: #1 children's hospital in the United States: https://give.cincinnatichildrens.org.

• Gillette Children's Hospital https://gillettechildrens.donordrive.com.