Anita C. Kurtz

Anita C. Kurtz was born near Oregon on December 28, 1930, one of three children of Lawrence Carrol and Edith Alberta (Noellsch) Fink.

Anita graduated from Oregon High School in 1949. She received a BA in Music Education from Northwest Missouri State Teachers College in Maryville, Missouri, where she belonged to the Tri Sigma Sorority. She later received her Master’s degree from the UMKC Music Conservatory.

She married Wayne Kurtz on December 28, 1952, and they became parents of two children.

Anita taught at the Mayflower rural school, and also in Kansas City. She retired in 1998 from South Holt after many years of teaching music and third grade.

Anita gave music lessons, and served for many years as the United Methodist Church choir director. In 2017 she was inducted into the Holt County Music Hall of Fame. She enjoyed scrapbooking, quilting, and flower gardening. Anita belonged to the Holiday Club and to the Oregon United Methodist Church.

Anita passed away Thursday, October 3, 2019 at a St. Joseph, Missouri hospital.

She was preceded in death by her parents, and son-in-law, Mike Schellhorn.

Survivors include her husband of 66 years, Wayne; children, Denise (Bob) Bechdoldt and Bradley (Jodie) Kurtz, all of Oregon; siblings, Rodney (Bertha) Fink, Macomb, Illinois, and Byron (Dana) Fink of Oregon; five grandchildren, Michael (Malissa) Schellhorn, Elizabeth (Chris) Mathews, Deborah Schellhorn, Matthew (Melissa) Kurtz, and Rachel (Joshua) Lewis; four great grandchildren, Mikey and Madeline Schellhorn, Evelyn Mathews, and Robbie Kurtz; and nieces and nephews.

Family visitation was held on Sunday, October 6, 2019 from 5:00 pm to 7:00 pm at the Chamberlain Funeral Home in Oregon. Services were held on Monday, October 7, 2019 at 10:30 am at the Oregon United Methodist Church. Interment was at Maple Grove Cemetery. Memorials may be directed to the Oregon United Methodist Church Building Fund. Online condolences may be left at www.chamberlainfuneral.com