Franklin Delano "Del" Gurley, age 87, died Thursday, October 7, 2021, at AnMed Health Medical Center. Del was born February 1, 1934, near Central, SC, to the late John C. and Myra Milford Gurley. His family moved to Iva, SC, when he was a young boy. He grew up in Iva and considered that to be his hometown. In addition to his parents, he was preceded in death by the love of his life, his wife: Barbara Cornwell Gurley, two brothers: John C. Gurley Jr. and W. Glenn Gurley, and one sister: Elizabeth Ann Gurley. He is survived by three daughters: Elaine Payne (Greg), Lynn Whitfield (Greg), and Beth Moore, three grandchildren: Justin Whitfield (Katelyn), Carson McIntire (Kyle), and Catherine Payne, two great-grandchildren: Damon McIntire and Olivia McIntire, one dear sister: Lucia Atkins, one brother-in-law: Ross Cornwell, many nieces and nephews that he loved dearly, and his long-time employee and friend: Stanley Jones. Del was a long-time member of Central Presbyterian Church. Earlier in life, he attended Holy Trinity Lutheran Church and was a charter member of Abiding Savior Lutheran Church. Del was a self-taught and self-made man. He never wasted a moment of his life. At the age of 13 he started his own tile laying company and was managing crews of men twice his age. In his later teens he was a foreman for his father's construction company. During the Korean War, Del joined the United States Air Force, and went through basic training in Dover, Delaware. While stationed in Delaware, he built a speedboat in his spare time. Boating would continue to be a hobby the rest of his life, and this boat would be the first of many he would build in his life. Del's unit was to be deployed to Korea during the Korean War, but the war ended before his unit arrived. They were instead stationed at Iwo Jima, and he spent the remainder of his service stationed there. He and Barbara were married upon his return home from service. He once again started working for his father's construction company. During this time, Del started his own construction company with his brother Glenn Gurley: Glendell Builders, Inc. They would go on to develop numerous subdivisions throughout Anderson County together. Del would later go on to develop some of the earliest off-campus student housing at Clemson University. He also created a real estate brokerage firm and was an original member of the Anderson Association of Realtors as well as the Anderson Home Builders Association. Throughout the rest of his life, Del remained active in numerous other construction and development projects. One project included building the first solar-powered home in Anderson. Del had many hobbies, including building and flying model airplanes, boating, and fishing. He had an engineer's brain and loved tinkering with things, taking them apart to see how they worked. He loved technology and for an 87-year-old man, he knew his way around his iPhone better than most. One of his and Barbara's greatest hobbies and passions was traveling. They loved taking cruises, and took many trips to places like Russia, Australia, China, and Turkey. Later in life, he loved spending time at the lake on his houseboat at Portman Marina, where he enjoyed the company of his many friends that he made there. One of Del's greatest joys in life was that he was able to work with his family each and every day of his life. Visitation will be Monday, October 11, 2021, at The McDougald Funeral Home from 10:00AM - 12:00PM. There will be a graveside service following at 12:30PM at Forest Lawn Memorial Park with Noelle Henry Read officiating. In lieu of flowers, memorials may be made to Central Presbyterian Church Building Fund, 1404 N Boulevard Anderson, SC 29621. Events Visitation Monday, October 11, 2021 10:00AM - 12:00PM The McDougald Funeral Home 2211 North Main Street Anderson, SC 29621 Email: Gail@mcdougaldfuneralhome.com,laurel@mcdougaldfuneralhome.com Phone: (864) 224-4343 Graveside Monday, October 11, 2021 12:30PM Forest Lawn Memorial Park 2609 U. S. Highway 29 North Anderson , SC 29621 Email: Gail@mcdougaldfuneralhome.com,laurel@mcdougaldfuneralhome.com Phone: (864) 225-1636 Final Resting Place Forest Lawn Memorial Park 2609 U. S. Highway 29 North Anderson , SC 29621