John Thomas Kurtz passed away Friday, March 28th, 2025, in Las Vegas, Nevada at the age of 73 after a brief battle with lung cancer.

The first son of John J. and Kathy Kurtz, John was born and raised in Omaha, Nebraska. As an adult, he served in the 82nd Airborne of the U.S. Army before moving to Wyoming, joining the oil industry, and meeting the only person to whom he would consistently lose arguments, his beloved wife of 41 years, Linda. In their time together, the two went on countless adventures, and, in the latter part of their lives they and their little Yorkshire Terrier, Charley, split their time between their homes in Story, Wyoming and Las Vegas, Nevada.

Smart as they come and unfailingly stubborn, there weren’t many things he set his mind to that John couldn’t accomplish. No matter how much time, swearing and power napping it would take, he wouldn’t fully stop until the job got done – even if sometimes you did wish that said job might be handed off to someone a bit more qualified.

Of course, even though he knew how to work hard, John also knew how to have a good time. Be it fly fishing in the mountains, shooting pool, playing poker, going out to eat with family and friends, or watching TV with the volume far higher than necessary, he had plenty of hobbies to keep himself occupied once his work was finished.

In his life, John had the unique ability to be both one of the most endearing people you’ve ever met, as well as one of the most obnoxious. While there were plenty of days where you would want nothing more than to sit and spend time with him, there were others – usually after he had just loudly said something extremely embarrassing and very offensive in a public place – where you might seriously think to yourself, “I could probably hit him with the car and convince everyone it was an accident.” In the end however, his particular charm would always win out and you’d decide to table vehicular homicide until another day.

A son, a brother, a husband, an uncle, a father, a grandpa, and a friend, John loved and was loved by too many people to count. He lived a full life, traveling the world, eating fine food, drinking good liquor, and “associating” with plenty of beautiful women.

He will be missed, but, above all else, he will be remembered as the man, the myth, and the legend that he was.

A Celebration Of Life will be held on Saturday, September 13, 2025 at 11:00 am at the Champion Kane Funeral Home, with a reception to follow in the Champion Kane Reception Hall.

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