Russell Fleming Kurtz

Russell Fleming Kurtz, 83, of Dover, died Tuesday, Feb. 24, 2009, in Union Hospital, following a lengthy illness.

Born, February 2, 1926, in Springfield Twp., Summit Co., he was a son of the late Thomas and Elizabeth Fleming Kurtz. Russ represented the Akron Beacon Journal as a spelling bee champion in 1940 in the Scripps National Spelling Bee in Washington, D.C., and placed fourteenth in the nation. He graduated in 1944 from Springfield Twp. High School.

Russ served honorably in the US Army Air Corps in the Asiatic-Pacific Theatre, during the Second World War. He was a paratrooper with the Eleventh Army Airborne Division, and served as a military policeman in the Philippine Islands. He attained the rank of sergeant. Russ was also a radio operator for the Eleventh Airborne Command in Japan.

Following his service time, he became an Ohio State Highway Patrolman, serving out of the Wooster and Massillon posts. Russ earned his pilot's license, flying for the Patrol, and was trained by the Eastman Kodak Co. as a crime scene photographer. He retired from the Ohio State Highway Patrol following twenty-five years of service.

Russ took an inspector's position with Specter Freight in eastern Pennsylvania. He later returned to Ohio and went to work as the assistant Chief of Police at Sugarcreek. Russ retired from law enforcement in 1991, and moved with his family to Connellsville, Pennsylvania, where he obtained a position as head of security of Highlands Hospital. He also was employed by Burns Security of Pittsburgh.

Russ was a former member of the Connellsville Church of God, and presently belonged to the First Church of God in New Philadelphia.

He is survived by his wife, Rev. Kay (Mitchell) Kurtz; his loving children, Kim (Don) Driscoll of Reston, Virginia, Kathy (Bill) Poor of Doylestown, Tammy (Eric) Fountain of Ragersville; step-children, Doug (Lynn) Immel of New Philadelphia, Mitch (Sara) Immel of Dover, Brenda (Mark) Bolitho of Wilmot, Jenny (Don) Gaut of Massillon; his precious nine grandchildren, Zachary and Alexandria Kurtz, Dylan Fountain, Gabrielle, Dravin and Aidan Immel, Christopher Troyer, Jimmie Lee and Brandon Brown; sister, Paulina Kurtz of Phoenix, Arizona; brother, Kenneth Kurtz of Wheeling, West Virginia; and numerous nieces and nephews.

In addition to his parents, Russ was preceded in death by a sister, Geneva Fulmer; and by two brothers, John and Dale Kurtz.

A funeral service will be held Friday, February 27, at 1 p.m., in the Toland-Herzig Funeral Home & Crematory, Dover, with Pastor Matt Roe and Russ' good friend, Tom Agler, officiating. The Dover post of the Veterans of Foreign Wars will present military honors immediately after the service at the funeral home. The family will host a meal in the Toland-Herzig Monarch Center on the Boulevard in Dover following the military rites. Burial will be at a later date in the Ohio Western Reserve National Cemetery, Rittman. Family and friends are invited to call at the funeral home on Thursday, February 26, 5 8 p.m. To sign an online guestbook and share a fond memory of Russ, please visit the funeral home's Web site and click on Obituaries.

Toland-Herzig, Dover
330-343-6132
www.tolandherzig.com