JOHN KUHR obituary

John Broadwater Kuhr, 71, died Tuesday, Oct. 14, 2003, at his home in Kalispell following a valiant battle against malignant melanoma. Cremation has taken place.

A memorial service will be held on Saturday at 1 p.m. at the St. Mark's Episcopal Church in Havre with the Rev. Edwina Aker officiating.

John wasborn inHavre on Dec. 26, 1931, to Max and Marian Broadwater Kuhr. He grew up in the family home on First Avenue in Havre, attended Havre public schools and entered Northern Montana College as a freshman in 1949.

John was named MVP of the Regional Junior College Tournament in Provo, Utah, which led him to transfer to the University of Utah on a basketball scholarship, graduating in 1953. He then attended the University of Michigan where he earned his Juris Doctorate in 1956. While there, he joined the U.S. Marine Corps Reserve eventually serving as an infantry company commander and a 3rd Marine Division Legal Officer in the JAG as a First Lieutenant from 1956-59.

John met a young U.S. Air Force nurse, Martha Ann Good, while they were both stationed in the Washington D.C. area. They were married in New Bedford, Mass., following their honorable discharges from the Marine Corps and Air Force in 1960. They returned to Havre to begin his career in the law offices of Weber, Bosch, and Kuhr, currently Bosch, Kuhr, Dugdale, Martin and Kaze. They were blessed with four children who brought much happiness to them over the years.

After Martha succumbed to cancer in 1992, John continued practicing law in Havre enjoying his children and grandchildren very much. In 1996, he retired and married Carolyn Keil, an Episcopal priest who serves the St. Patrick's Episcopal Church in Bigfork. They have lived in Kalispell since 1997.

The place that brought John the most joy throughout his life was the family cabin on Lake McDonald in Glacier National Park. Even his earliest memories included fishing, hiking and swimming in the park with family and friends. He also participated in many horse packing trips into the Bob Marshall Wilderness where he was the designated camp dishwasher and fellow kibitzer. The stories he told of those trips were colorful accounts of good times with close friends.

John's professional credits and community activities include: a Fellow with the American College of Real Estate Lawyers; a trustee for the State Bar of Montana; the American Bar Association; a director, trustee and board vice-chair of Blue Cross Blue Shield of Montana; past chair of the Montana Human Rights Commission; trustee and past board president of Northern Montana Hospital; Montana Districting and Apportionment Commission; Montana Judicial Nominating Commission; Montana Gender Fairness Task Force; advisory director of Norwest Bank in Montana; advisory director of Capital Savings Bank in Havre; director of Havre Federal Savings and Loan Association; Havre Area Chamber of Commerce board; Havre Salvation Army board; and most recently, the RSVP board of Flathead County and volunteer for the Meals on Wheels program of Flathead County. John's love of people and his penchant for engaging everyone in conversation made his Meals on Wheels work "a match made in heaven." He loved working with the RSVP volunteers, the clients and the staff at Meals on Wheels.

John loved golf for its challenge as well as for the opportunity it gave him to enjoy kidding with his many friends. In the winter, he enjoyed downhill skiing, especially at Bear Paw Ski Bowl south of Havre and Big Mountain in Whitefish.

John was proud of the involvement of his family in health care like their mother. His daughter, Mary, is an RN at Northern Montana Hospital in Havre; his daughter, Sue, is an RN at North Valley Hospital in Whitefish; his son, Christian, and his wife, Stephanie, are both medical doctors at the University of Washington; and his son, John, is an RN at Benefis Health Care in Great Falls, and his daughter-in-law, Kathy, is an RN at Northern Montana Hospital.

Survivors include his wife, Carolyn; daughters, Mary (Robert "Buzz") Pizzini of Havre and Sue (John) Conners of Whitefish; sons, Christian (Stephanie) Kuhr and John (Kathy) Kuhr of Havre; six grandchildren; twin sisters, Kathlyn (Bob) Dyer of Bozeman and Carolyn (Cecil) Rhodes of Casper, Wyo.; brothers, Max (Ann) Kuhr and Paul (Beverly) Kuhr, all of Havre.

Memorials may be made to the Montana State University-Northern Foundation in Havre or to St. Patrick's Episcopal Church, P.O. Box 431, Bigfork, MT 59901.

Arrangements are by Buffalo Hill Funeral Home in Kalispell.