Dea Hurston, longtime San Diego arts philanthropist, playwright and volunteer, passed away Sunday
Playwright and arts donor Dea Hurston poses for photos at her home on Wednesday, Aug. 18, 2021 in San Diego, CA. For nearly 40 years, Dea Hurston was a powerful force in San Diego’s theater community. She was an underwriter, arts commissioner, community engagement leader, gala planner and outspoken voice for creating opportunities for actors, directors, designers and playwrights of color. She died Sunday at the age of 73.
Hurston said it was her mission to bring her plays to life onstage before she died because they offered an honest slice of Black life that’s rarely seen on American theater stages. Kristianne Kurner, the executive artistic director of New Village Arts, said this week that Hurston leaves “an indelible impact in the San Diego theater community: mentoring, encouraging, supporting, loving, and always, telling her truth. … The Dea Hurston New Village Arts Center will stand as a testament to the perseverance, passion and spirit of our beloved friend.”
“My grandmother really did care more about every single person that she met and interacted with than herself,” he said. “It was really people that drove her. She cared about connecting people and helping people be the best versions of themselves.”Hurston was born Dea Douglas in East Liverpool, Ohio, on May 15, 1951, where her father worked in the steel mills and her mother was a domestic worker.
“I looked at his resume and said, ‘OK, this is marriage material,’ ” she told the San Diego Union-Tribune in 2017. “So I flirted with him during the interview, and said, ‘If I find you a job, will you marry me?’ And he said yes.”
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