William Joseph Kurz

William Joseph “Bill” Kurz, Esq. passed away surrounded by his family on October 16, 2019. Bill was born on October 20, 1927 in Brooklyn, New York to William Joseph Kurz, MD and Margaret Marion Kurz (Flannery). He graduated from Franklin and Marshall College in 1950 and received his Juris Doctorate from the Brooklyn School of Law in 1953. Bill worked as an attorney and Certified Public Accountant and spent the majority of his career working for the Securities and Exchange Commission in Washington, D.C. Bill’s kind disposition, sharp intellect, genuine interest in others (as evidenced by the many, many questions he could summon), curiosity about the world around him, and easy laugh will be dearly missed.

Bill and his wife Mary Anne moved to Melbourne Beach, FL in 1994 after several years of “snow birding” from Maryland. They joined his sister Jeanne and her family in the Melbourne area and followed the same path south that his father had taken years earlier. Bill’s primary interest in retirement was playing bridge – he achieved his Gold Master status in 2017. He also enjoyed reading extensively, traveling, dining out, and admiring their beachfront view with a cold beer (though he would never set foot in the ocean, which he routinely informed others is full of “critters”).

Bill is survived by his beloved wife of 50 years, Mary Anne Gates Kurz, his son William Joseph “Bill” Kurz, III, of Richmond, VA, his daughter Wendy Kurz Childers of Decatur, GA, his daughter-in-law Robin Vogel Kurz, his son-in-law Charles Andrew “Andy” Childers, his grandchildren Katherine Anne “Katie” Kurz, William Joseph “Will” Kurz IV, Flannery Gates Childers, and Hollis Anne Childers, his sisters-in-law and brothers-in-law, and his many nieces, nephews, and friends. He is preceded in death by his parents and his sister, Margaret Jeanne Byrd.

William J. Kurz leaves behind a legacy of family, love, intellectual curiosity, and a charge to greet each day “bright, happy, and cheerful” (or alternatively, “bright, eager, and ambitious”). All who knew Bill will attest that he was truly one of a kind.