Beth Ann Hursh

Beth Ann Hursh, 62, of Syracuse, died Monday morning, June 5, 2006, at her home after a two year illness.  She was born December 23, 1943, in Huntington, Indiana, to Robert and Lucy (Kauffman) Shoemaker.  On April 3, 1971, in Goshen, she married Stanley “Bud” Hursh.  He survives.   A French teacher at Wawasee High School from 1985-2005, she was selected as the DEKKO Foundation Teacher of the Year in 2003.  She had also taught in Fort Wayne and Mishawaka.   Mrs. Hursh, a member of the American Association of Teachers of French (AATF), initiated a 12 year exchange program between Wawasee High School and a French high school near Orleans, France.  She also served as the Academic Coordinator for the successful Wawasee Academic Super Bowl Teams.  Several Super Bowl Teams reached the State Final level and two teams finished with first place trophies.   A 1961 Goshen High School and a 1966 Purdue University graduate, Mrs. Hursh studied Slavic languages at the University of Chicago, the University of California, Santa Cruz and Berkley and earned her Masters Degree from Indiana University.   She is survived by her husband, Bud; two sons, John Hursh of Pittsburg, Pennsylvania and Bradley Hursh of Winter Park, Colorado; two sisters, Carol (Ken) Campbell of Kokomo, Indiana and Judy Shoemaker of Syracuse and Indianapolis.  Also surviving is a nephew, Greg Campbell and two aunts, Mary Beth Ruhl of Venice, Florida and Ann Ruth Bloeke of Huntington, Indiana.   Friends will be received 2 to 4 and 6 to 8 p.m., Wednesday, June 7,  at Yoder-Culp Funeral Home.   An 11:00 a.m., Thursday, June 8, 2006, funeral will be held at the Calvary United Methodist Church, Syracuse.  Rev. David Herr and Rev. John Modesitt of the Calvary United Methodist Church will officiate.   Burial will be Violett Cemetery, Goshen.   In lieu of flowers, memorial contributions may be made to the Beth Hursh Academic Scholarship Fund at Wawasee High School.