RIP, Buddy Hurlock

Didn't see an obit yet, but Buddy was one of the great people in this business. He died of a rare type of brain cancer at 40. He redefined preps coverage in Delaware. A remembrance of the type of person he was:

http://blogs.delawareonline.com/secondhelpings/2012/05/21/remembering-buddy-hurlock-and-his-regular-guy-grub-column/

 

Buddy was one of those guys who makes a section go, the high school writer who was the point of contact for so many readers, whether he was writing about someone they knew, covering a game they were attending or chronicling a team they really cared about.
Who do you want in a job like that? A guy who works hard. A guy who really cares and isn't faking it. A guy with a smile on his face. A guy who is so nice it's almost hard to believe.
That was Buddy. There are reporters like this at papers all over the country, but I'm not sure how many cared as much as Buddy and were as genuine as Buddy.
That he is gone at age 40 is a loss for the community and a loss for the profession, not to mention such a loss to his friends and family.
Buddy was supposed to be that kind of guy who becomes an absolute local institution, the guy who documents the sporting life of an area for 40 years. Or maybe his life would have taken another path.
That it was cut this short is just incredibly sad. I worked with Buddy for eight years and wish I would have done a better job keeping in touch with Buddy after I left, but I consider myself lucky for the friendship he shared with me.
Newspapers and readers need Buddy Hurlocks. He will be greatly missed.
Doug Lesmerises

 

Back in high school, I ran cross country and track at Mount Pleasant (Wilmington, Del.). I wasn't too good as a freshman, sophomore or junior, but I turned a lot of heads as a senior. I placed second or third at a few big meets and things were going pretty well.

One day I got called to the nurse's office, who was also our assistant coach, and someone wanted to speak with me on the phone. It was Buddy.

We spoke for a while, as best as 17-year-old me could and a few days later, a profile on me ran in the newspaper with the title, 'Mayforth putting on a strong final kick.' I still have it in a scrapbook somewhere.

RIP, Buddy.