Private Graveside Service
Margaret Dinkel Lightner Hurt, 99, of Newport News, VA, passed away on Thursday, March 4, 2021 in Newport News.
Margaret was born in Swoope, VA to Robert Archibald Lightner and Ednora A. Hamilton Lightner on September 17, 1921. In her youth she was a member of Lock Willow Church and attended school in Churchville, VA. She married Charles Arthur Swats of Swoope in 1946, then George Jefferson Hurt of Roanoke, VA in 1956. After George’s death she had a long relationship with her good friend, J. Claude Patterson of Newport News. Margaret grew up in a close-knit family and community on a Shenandoah Valley farm during the Great Depression. Her family was close throughout her life and she frequently returned to the valley to visit family and friends. During WWII Margaret worked in a DuPont factory near Waynesboro, VA. After the war she moved to the Newport News area following family already established in the area. She started working for NASA in Hampton, VA in 1956 as a mathematician or “computer” for the 16-foot Wind Tunnel. She retired from NASA in 1983. Margaret loved playing bridge, vacations in the mountains or beach, ballroom dancing, and painting. She was an accomplished seamstress, making clothes for her siblings and friends, a good cook, and in the words of her husband George, “could have been a pro golfer.” She had a mischievous sense of humor and liked a good practical joke. She was a long-time member and supporter of Hilton Presbyterian Church.
Margaret was preceded in death by siblings, Janette Cook, Robert Lightner, Nora Lee Rankin, Annabelle Harer and Evelyn Beard; her husbands, Charles Swats and George Hurt and her friend Claude Patterson.
Margaret is survived by her sons, Fred Swats and wife Sharon, DeWitt Swats, Perry Hurt and wife Nancy; grandchildren: Kara Swats Brandt, Kent Swats, Jessica Swats van Valey, and Austin Hurt; great grandchild Miles Brandt and many nieces and nephews.
Memorials may be given to Hilton Presbyterian Church.
The family wishes to extend our sincere thanks to the staff and nurses of the Huntington Assisted Living Facility for their excellent and loving care for Margaret over her six-year residence.
A Graveside Service was held for the family.