Kurt, Paul Joseph

Paul Joseph Kurt, 78, of Green Valley, Ariz., formerly of Monticello, died suddenly April 15, 2010, at Veterans Affairs Medical Center in Tucson, Ariz. Memorial Mass will be held at 10 Saturday morning, May 22, at Sacred Heart Catholic Church, with interment in Sacred Heart Cemetery. Father Keith Birch will officiate at the services. Following the interment services a Celebration of Life service and luncheon will be held at the Eagles Club in Monticello. Goettsch Funeral Home is in charge of the arrangements.

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Surviving are his wife, Lois; two children, Paul “Chip” (Mary) Kurt, Eagan, Minn., and Debra Jeanne (James) Beck, Placerville, Calif.; five grandchildren; and three sisters, Jeanne Buesch, Bremerton, Wash., Theresa Webber, Bloomington, Minn., and Roseanne Reiff, Port Washington, Wis.

He was preceded in death by his parents, and two sisters, Dorothy Nunnery and Ruth Green.

Paul Joseph Kurt was born Jan. 10, 1932, at Monticello, Iowa, the son of Paul L. and Mary Muller Kurt. Paul graduated from Sacred Heart High School in 1949. He then worked at the Monticello Express. Paul enlisted in the United States Army during the Korean War, where he achieved the rank of staff sergeant. Paul Kurt and Lois Reiff were married April 16, 1955, in Fonda, Iowa. The couple lived in Monticello for a year before moving to Seattle, Wash., Fort Dodge and Buffalo Center, Iowa, retuning to Monticello in 1960. Paul then worked as superintendent of the Graphic Arts Department at the Iowa Men's Reformatory. In 1988, they moved to Maui, Hawaii and in 1996, to Sacramento, Calif., before retiring to Green Valley in 2002.

Paul was a member of the VFW and American Legion and was a past commander of the Monticello Drill Team. He always enjoyed his hobbies of building and flying radio-controlled model airplanes and creating beautiful items in his woodworking shop.

He will be missed by his friends and family.