Denis A. Kurtenbach

Denis Albert Kurtenbach, of Paola and Naples, Fla., died Saturday, July 4, 2015. He passed away peacefully, surrounded by his family in Naples, eight days after being diagnosed with bone cancer, and exactly one month after his 80th birthday. Denis and his wife, Colleen, were married more than 56 years. He was born to John and Theodora Kurtenbach, in a farmhouse near Dimock, S.D., on June 4, 1935. Sixth of 13 children, Denis and his siblings helped his parents run the family farm. From about the time he was seven years old, he would get up before dawn to milk cows before school, and then return to evening farm chores after the school day ended. A devout Catholic throughout his life, Denis was baptized, received his First Holy Communion and was confirmed at Sts. Peter and Paul Catholic Church in Dimock. He graduated from nearby Parkston High School in 1953, where he played football and baseball. After graduating from high school, Denis helped his parents run the farm for two years. He served in the U.S. Army as an artillery trainer at Fort Sill in Lawton, Okla., from 1955 to 1957. Back home from the service, Denis and his brother Frank were set up on a double blind date with two close friends who had just graduated from St. Agatha High School in nearby Howard, S.D. Denis asked his date out again the very next night"to attend a barn dance on the Fourth of July. Eighteen months later, the couple was married Dec. 30, 1958. Ignoring temperatures nearing 20 degrees below zero, more than 100 guests came out to celebrate at a wedding Mass and reception at Holy Three Kings Catholic Church in Epiphany, S.D., Colleen"s hometown. Denis attended South Dakota State University in Brookings, while he and his wife both worked and raised their first two children. Denis graduated from South Dakota State in 1962, with a bachelor"s of science degree in civil engineering. After college, he worked as a civil engineer with Kansas City-based Black & Veatch, where he was transferred first to Grand Rapids, Mich., and then to Russellville, Ark, where the couple"s third and fourth children were born. Thus began a pattern of regular family moves to various jobs sites, as Denis and Colleen worked quickly every two years or so to get situated in a new home, new church and new community in time to get the children enrolled in the local Catholic school. In 1970, Denis was recruited by Carrothers Construction Company, a premier Midwest contractor specializing in water treatment and, later, swimming pools and aquatic centers, including those in Paola and Louisburg. They moved to Paola for the first time that year. In 1972, they moved to Colorado Springs, Colo., where Denis oversaw the development of a major wastewater treatment project for the growing city. There, he served on the parish council at Divine Redeemer Catholic Church. The couple had their fifth child in Colorado Springs in 1975. That same year, he and his wife purchased Pemco Inc., the management company for Carrothers. When the school year ended in 1976, the couple returned to Paola, where they took up permanent residence. In 1981, he became president of Carrothers. In 1988, he took over ownership of Triangle Builders of Kansas, Inc. During his career, Kurtenbach played a leadership role in construction and contracting associations in the Midwest and nationally, including serving as president of the Kansas Contractors Association. He also served on various committees of the Missouri Contractors Association. He is a life director of the Association of General Contractors of America (AGC) and served on the executive board for two years as chairman of the Municipal Utilities Division. He was chair of the AGC-American Council of Engineering Companies (ACEC) Joint Committee and AGC-ACEC Joint Environmental Committee. He also served on the board of the Kansas Council for Economic Education. Kurtenbach was a church and civic leader. He and his wife have been active parishioners and contributors to Holy Trinity Catholic Church for nearly 40 years. Denis served for 15 years as chairman of the finance committee. He served on the Board of Directors of the Miami County National Bank and TeamBank in Paola for more than 25 years. Denis served as president of the Paola Country Club. Their children graduated from Paola High School. After nearly 30 years of steady stewardship and diversification of Carrothers, Denis sold the business in 1996. He remained chairman of the company"s board of directors until 2003. Upon retirement, the Kurtenbachs bought a second residence in Naples. They joined the Classics Country Club at Lely Resort and became active parishioners and contributors to St. Peter the Apostle Catholic Church. With many friends in the community there, Naples became the couple"s valued second home. Denis and his wife loved to travel. While their passports show the stamps of several countries, he was perhaps most proud to have visited each of the 50 states together. The couple flew the Concorde before its flights were curtailed. But when traveling in the United States, they often chose to drive. Golf clubs ready in the trunk, the tireless twosome would often pull off the highway to play 18 holes somewhere. They played dozens of famous and not-so-famous courses across the continental United States, as well as in Hawaii, Mexico, Canada, Spain, Ireland and Scotland. Denis hit not one but two holes-in-one in his lifetime"first in Whistler, British Columbia, and then at his home course in Naples. He also delighted in hosting and playing bridge, dining out and going to the theatre and sports events. He was an enthusiastic, if long-suffering, fan of the Kansas City Royals. He cherished going to each home game of the 1985 "I-70 Showdown Series," when the Royals beat the St. Louis Cardinals in seven games. For the next 29 years, he followed the team regularly. And he and Colleen had seats for the Wild Card Game against the Oakland Athletics as well as for the 2014 World Series games at Kauffman Stadium. He was an unabashed storyteller and a cheerful whistler. He was a doer of the daily crossword and an avid reader. He was an enthusiastic singer, especially of hymns, jazz standards and songs patriotic. He enjoyed a good cigar and, on occasion, a single malt. Above all, Denis valued his roles as husband, father and grandfather. Denis is survived by his devoted wife, Colleen, along with four children and seven grandchildren, including his daughter Jody Kurtenbach, of Broomfield, Colo.; his son, Douglas Kurtenbach, of River Forest, Ill., and his wife, Kathleen (Donnelly) Kurtenbach, and their children, Dietrich Kurtenbach of Oakland, Calif., Emily Kurtenbach, of New York City, and Jack Kurtenbach, of River Forest; his daughter, Kristin Kurtenbach, of Falls Church, Va., and her partner, Teresa Ferinde Dunham, and their children, Caleb and Jack Dunham; and his daughter Jill Boos of Olathe, and her husband, Ronald Boos, and their children, Katherine Bolz of Omaha, Neb., and Allison Bolz of Overland Park. He is also survived by his brothers Aelred (Irene) and Frank (Jean) Kurtenbach of Brookings, S.D.; brother Ivan (Florita) Kurtenbach, of Troy, Mich.; brother DeWayne Kurtenbach, of Sahuarita, Ariz.; sister Eva (Everett) Scheetz of Coon Rapids, Minn.; sister Alice (Gerald) Laber, of Denver; sister Rita Kurtenbach and her husband Carl Huffman, of Cheyenne, Wyo., and his half-sister Marceline (Bill) Weiss of Parkston, S.D. He is also survived by nearly 50 nieces and nephews. Denis was preceded in death by his daughter, Nicole; his parents, John and Theodora; his brothers Jack and Wilfred Kurtenbach and wife, Marie; his sister Magdeline and husband Lucian Kabeiseman; his sister Marie and husband Pat Walz, and his brother DeWayne"s wife, Carol. In lieu of flowers, please send contributions in his memory to Holy Trinity Catholic Church or the Kansas Council of Economic Education. Holy Trinity Catholic Church Service: Saturday, July 11, 2015 at 10:00 AM Visitation: Friday, July 10, 2015 from 6:30 PM to 8:00 PM