Edwin Eric Kurtz, 80, peacefully slipped the mortal bonds of earth, April 17, 2025 at home and is no longer struggling to catch his breath.

Eric, as he preferred to be called, was born in St. Louis, Missouri, August 31, 1944. His father, Edwin, was serving in the U.S. Army in the Pacific and his mother, Ann, was living in Ferguson, Missouri, with her parents. His father returned from the war and Eric was joined by a brother, John, exactly three years later, then brother, Kraig, in 1951 and a sister, Christine, in 1958.The family had in the early 50s started living in St. Charles, Missouri.

Eric attended Immanuel Lutheran School in St. Charles, completing 8th grade, then went to Kemper Military School in Booneville, Missouri. He graduated high school then attended Valparaiso University. He decided to return to Kemper for junior college. He graduated from Valparaiso in 1967 with a degree in business administration. He started working for U.S. Steel in Gary, Indiana, but returned to St. Charles to work for the family business which was St. Charles Quarry and Kurtz Concrete. Other companies were added and Eric was in charge of operations.

He decided one night in January, 1970, to be adventurous and called up McCluer Hall on the campus of Lindenwood College in St. Charles to get together a foursome for bridge. This is where he met his wife, Jo. They were married in December, 1970, and resided in St. Charles where Jo completed her teaching degree at Lindenwood and began working for the St. Charles School District and Eric worked for St. Charles Quarry, Kurtz Concrete, Goellner Redi-Mix, and Defiance Quarry. 

The family decided to sell the family businesses in 1986 and Eric and Jo saw an opportunity to go west. After some decisions, they decided to build an earth sheltered home outside Princeton, Idaho. Eric pursued his hobbies of gardening and lapidary. Among his proudest moments were scoring Gardener of the Year at the county fair. 

He then worked for a time at a local manufacturing plant, D8. When that closed, he began work at Floyd’s Harvest Foods in Potlatch, Idaho. He also resumed his bowling career. The fear of COVID put a stop to the Floyd’s job. Also, his breathing was getting worse from COPD. He couldn’t perform his work like he wanted like carry-outs and keeping Aisle 7 spic and span and organized.

In all his work experiences, he always was one of the guys and effortlessly fit in. He liked talking and was not shy telling his stories of his adventures and sharing his gardening expertise. He also enjoyed his time fishing at the Lake of the Ozarks with Scott. He spent one September in France with a group of Englishmen. His wife gave him ideas for wedding anniversary cruises to Alaska and the Amazon River to Buenos Aires. He went to Alaska twice on fishing excursions out of Sitka. 

He was always friendly, polite, and well-liked. He will be missed by all who knew him. His schooling and work over the years exposed him to numerous people whom he counted as friends. He is preceded in death by his parents and his brother, Kraig, who died in 2018. He is survived by his wife of 54 years, Jo, and his brother, John (Julie), and his sister, Christine, and nieces, Kimberlee, Annie, Eleanor, Eva, Sarah, and Hannah and nephew, Adam. He was also a great-uncle. Also his beloved Siamese, Taffy2, survives him.

Thanks to Elite Home Care and Hospice, Kramer Funeral Home, Dan Akins of Floyd’s Harvest Food and his crew.

A Remembrance Potluck will be held at the Palouse River Community Center in Princeton, Idaho, May 10, 2025, at 5:30 p.m.

Kramer Funeral Home, Palouse, WA is caring for the family. Online condolences may be left at www.kramercares.com