Raymond H. Kurtz Sr.
Raymond H. Kurtz Sr., 80, resident of
Kansas Christian Home in Newton, died Tuesday (Feb. 23, 1999)
at Newton Medical Center after a lengthy illness. He was born Jan. 9,
1919, in Fingel, N.D., to William and Anna (Sauer) Kurtz. He married
Eunice Blackwell April 11, 1943. She preceded him in death in 1997.
He lived on a farm near Fingel until he was 6 and then the family
moved to Richmond, Minn., and operated Kurtz Riverside Resort. In
1938, he became the first person to sail along from the mouth of the
Mississippi to the Gulf of Mexico. He published a book recounting his
adventures. He was a graduate of Eden Valley High School in
Minnesota. He and a friend canoed down a river
from St. Paul, Minn., to New Orleans and then he served in the
Civilian Conservation Corps in Remer, Minn. He bicycled from
Minnesota to California in 1941. He enlisted in the Navy after the
bombing of Pearl Harbor. He saw combat in the Pacific and then
because of photography training at CCC, he was sent to Pensacola,
Fla., for training. He was stationed in San Diego and commissioned
his own photographic unit. After World War II, he moved back to Eden
Valley, Minn., where he started the Raymond Photography Studio.
Several years later ,he moved to Chicago. In 1953, he moved to Fort
Madison, Iowa, where he lived for 26 years. He was a Jewel Tea
salesman, fisherman, owned and managed real estate and worked at an
Army ammunition plant. In 1979, he moved to Newton to be closer to
family. He worked for his son at Star Drain and then was transferred
to Emporia Roto Rooter. In 1989, he opened his own business, Royal
Drain Cleaning, which he operated until July 1998. He was a member of
Emporia Assembly of God Church. Survivors include: one son, Ray Kurtz
Jr. of Newton; two daughters, Lynette Mincks of Westport, S.D., and
Carolyn Shaw of Salina; four sisters, Louise Bonin and Dorothy
Janson, both of Minneapolis, Clara Petersen of Walnut Creek, Calif.,
and Marian George of Maryville, Mo.; two grandchildren; and four
great-grandchildren. He also was preceded in death by his parents,
five brothers and two sisters. There will be a private graveside
service.
