Obituary - John Broadwater Kuhr II

John Broadwater Kuhr II, 50, passed away on Jan. 3, 2015, at Northern Montana Care Center in Havre after a brave and courageous two-year battle with appendiceal cancer.  

His vigil will be at 7 p.m. Wednesday, Jan. 14, 2015, with Tim Maroney officiating. His memorial Mass will be at 11 a.m. Thursday, Jan. 15, 2015, with Father Pete Guthneck officiating. Both services will be at St. Jude Thaddeus Catholic Church.

In memory of John, an account will be set up at Wells Fargo Bank for Rockwell's college education fund and a project to be decided for Havre High School.  

Holland & Bonine Funeral Home has been entrusted with services and arrangements. Please visit John's online memorial page at http://www.hollandbonine.com to leave a message of condolence for the family.

John was born March 6, 1964, in Havre, Montana, to John Broadwater and Martha (Good) Kuhr.  He attended Sunnyside School, Havre Central and graduated in 1983 from Havre High School. During his school years, John was an outstanding athlete in baseball, swimming and basketball.

After high school, he attended Dawson Community College in Glendive on a basketball scholarship earning a degree in law enforcement. Upon return to Havre, John did not pursue that career, but worked for several years on farms and drove semi-truck. Keeping good on a promise to his mother, he attended the College of Great Falls earning an LPN degree, and then furthered his education at Montana State University-Northern, graduating in 2000 with a bachelor's degree in nursing as a registered nurse.

John married Kathryn Ann Rockwell on Aug. 26, 1995, in Havre. John and Kate were blessed with a son, Rockwell Broadwater Kuhr, on Dec. 3, 1996. John considered his marriage to Kate and becoming a father to Rocky as the best things that ever happened to him. His world revolved around his family. Rocky was certainly the light of his life and his reason to live. When John was diagnosed with cancer in November 2012, he prioritized his goals, with top goals being to live long enough to walk Rocky out on the football field on Senior Night and to watch him graduate from high school in May 2015. John walked beside Rocky across the Blue Pony Football Stadium field on Senior Night this past October, and other than the day Rocky was born, that was the proudest moment of his life. After John got sick at Thanksgiving, he again prioritized his goals; to make it to Christmas, then to New Year's, then to his birthday in March, then to Rocky's graduation. He was home with Kate and Rocky for Christmas and welcomed in the New Year.

John's nursing career started at Northern Montana Hospital in 1992 as an LPN, and continued at this facility as an RN until 2002, when he decided to work as a traveling RN with Prairie Travelers so that he could schedule work around Rocky's school and sports activities. He traveled all over Montana working in hospitals, care centers, and emergency rooms. His travels resulted in some very special friendships. John continued to work until the fall of 2013 when complications from chemotherapy treatments and his cancer made it difficult to continue. To quit working as a nurse was hard for John, as he was passionate about the medical career that he had chosen, and even this past fall when he was feeling "pretty good," felt like he could return to work on a casual basis, and even renew his nursing license. But then around Thanksgiving, John's health status took a turn. The cancer had progressed, making him so weak that he was unable to recover.

John was an avid sports fan, enjoying all of the local high school and college sports around the Havre area. Throughout his adult life he attended as many of the events that he could, always wearing a Havre High Blue Pony or Northern Lights sweatshirt, always with encouraging words for all of the players, and occasionally some for the coaches and refs.

John coached Rocky's soccer and baseball teams for several years, bringing home the championship trophy in baseball two years in a row. He was a proud parent at all of Rocky's football and basketball games and track meets, cheering and yelling for the Havre teams, only missing a few games since his illness. He enjoyed the "family" of other parents that he and Kate became a part of. He had the utmost respect for all the players and in turn was rewarded with love, respect and admiration paid forward to him from the teams for his courage and strength in the fight for his life.

Throughout John's illness, he maintained hope and determination to overcome cancer. John was passionate about a lot of things, loved his family and friends, was generous, had the most beautiful smile and had a voice that was never not heard. He loved the family's dogs and cats, enjoyed snow skiing, swimming, video games and hunting and fishing. Since John was born, his family vacations were spent in the Flathead Valley, mostly at the family cabin on Lake McDonald in Glacier National Park. John loved and appreciated this beautiful place, and spent part of each summer at the cabin with Kate, Rocky, family and friends, referring to himself as "Glacier Dad" to Rocky's friends. He loved calling dibs to the porch bed and waking up to the view of the mountains and lake.

John was preceded in death by his parents, John and Martha Kuhr; mother-in-law, Mary Rockwell; and brother-in-law, Ray Lewis.

He is survived by his wife, Kate Kuhr, and son, Rockwell Kuhr, both of Havre; his brother, Christian (Stephanie) Kuhr of Seattle, Washington; sisters, Mary (Buzz) Pizzini of Havre and Susan (John) Conners of Whitefish, Montana; sisters-in-law, Charlotte Lewis and Teri Rockwell of Billings, Montana, Donna Rowley (Frankie) of Winifred, Montana; several nieces, nephews, aunts and uncles; and many, many friends.