Paul W. Hurd II ’71, a longtime teacher and former head of the Hyde School in Bath, died in a car accident November 13, 2013, in Bath. He was born on December 16, 1947, in Bath and prepared for college at Princess Anne High School in Virginia Beach, Va.; Lincoln Academy, Morse High School, and Hyde School, where in 1966, he was the first student to enroll. He also scored the school’s first touchdown and went on to teach government there for more than thirty-five years. On the night he died, he had just met with a member of the Hyde School’s board of directors and was driving back to the campus when the accident occurred. He was a James Bowdoin Scholar, a member of the Chi Psi fraternity, and sang bass with the Meddiebempsters double quartet. After receiving his master of arts in teaching from University of Chicago, he embarked on a distinguished career in education. Following a year at Beaver Country Day School, he returned to Hyde and never left. During the next forty years, he served in a variety of roles from teacher to head of school. He was also a pioneer in establishing additional Hyde campuses in New Haven and Woodstock, Conn., but his true love was teaching. Generations of Hyde alumni knew him as perhaps their most demanding teacher, but also one who always believed in their best. His government class was a signature right of passage for all Hyde seniors. His course focused on a person’s need to balance individual freedom and responsibility. It was not unusual for a class session to incorporate Aristotle, The Band, and surfing. He was a lifelong student of history and served on the staffs at Colonial Williamsburg and the Ohio Historical Society. He is survived by his mother, Claire Hurd; his wife of thirty-six years, Laurie Hurd ’79; son Zach Hurd; and daughters Meredith and Georgia Hurd.