Hospital, Fairhope, AL (while visiting his daughter and her husband.)
A funeral Mass will be held Saturday, July 24, at 2:00 p.m. at The Church of the Holy Family in
Columbus. The celebrants will be Fr. Frank Patterson and Monsignor William O. O’Neill. Burial
will follow at Park Hill Cemetery. Visitation will be Friday, July 23, at 6:00 p.m. at Striffler-Hamby
Mortuary. A rosary will follow visitation, at 7:00 p.m.
Charles was born in New York City, NY, on July 16, 1934, the eldest of five children of Charles
Leonard Kurtz and Blanche Gravel Kurtz. He was a United States Navy veteran, serving from
1952-1957. He attended the Fashion Institute of Technology in New York City, and started his
long career in the textile industry with West Point Pepperell (West Point, GA.) Upon retiring from
West Point Pepperell as Vice-President of the Industrial Fabrics Division, Charles formed his
own company, Wellington Custom Fabrics (Columbus, GA) in 1990, retiring in 2007. Charles
loved to travel, visiting many countries with his wife, Helen. He enjoyed spending time with his
family, especially his grandchildren and great-grandchildren.
In addition to his parents, Charles was preceded in death by his brothers, George Joseph Kurtz
and Kenneth Michael Kurtz, and his sister, Lorraine Aileen Kurtz.
He is survived by his wife of sixty-one years, Helen McTague Kurtz, and children, Jacqueline
(Edward) Thebaud of Fairhope, AL, Cynthia (Christopher) Lamb of Phenix City, AL, and Charles
J. (Laura) Kurtz of Columbus, seven grandchildren, one step-grandchild, three
great-grandchildren and two step-grandchildren. He is also survived by his sister, Denise
Harper, of Clayton, NC, and numerous nieces and nephews.
The family would like to thank Dr. Andrew Pippas and staff of the John B. Amos Cancer Center
for their long time care of Charles.
In lieu of flowers, donations may be made to the Piedmont Columbus Regional Foundation -
John B. Amos Cancer Center https://www.piedmont.org/locations/piedmont-columbus/foundation-columbus/home or The Lustgarten Foundation for Pancreatic Cancer, https://lustgarten.org/donate/ .
Fond memories and expressions of sympathy may be shared at www.shcolumbus.com for the Kurtz family.
