Paul Harold Kurtz Jr.

Paul Harold Kurtz, Jr. was born on March 29, 1952, in Jacksonville, Florida at the Naval Air Station hospital. He passed away peacefully in his sleep on September 4, 2024. Paul was a brilliant man, talented musician, avid reader, devout Christian, loving son, brother, husband, father, grandfather, friend, and an inspiration to all who met him.

Paul was preceded in death by his parents, Paul Harold and Carol Kurtz, sister Paula Carol, and his wife Pam Kurtz. He is survived by his wife Bonnie Mayak Kurtz, sister Paulette Kurtz, son Paul Kurtz (Lara), daughter Mallory Wildes (Andy), stepson David Mayak (Stephanie), aunt Vivian Merritt, “adopted” sons Trevor Brandl, Robin Brandl, and Clark Coombs, numerous grandchildren, cousins, and countless extended family and friends.

Paul was born prematurely weighing only one pound, fourteen ounces with his twin sister Paula Carol. She passed away the day after their birth. Paul was completely blind with the cause of his blindness being Retinopathy of Prematurity (ROP). It was not known until several years later. ROP causes abnormal blood vessel development in the retina of the eye. It can occur in infants born too early as the blood vessels may stop growing or grow abnormally from the retina into the back of the eye. Scar tissue can develop and pull the retina loose from the inner surface of the eye, leading to vision loss.

Paul’s parents raised him as they would have raised a sighted son. He climbed trees, rode bikes, slid down fire poles, climbed rocks, played various sports, fished, swam, joined the Boy Scouts, and did pretty much anything else a sighted child would have done. Paul would never allow his blindness to be an excuse or a crutch. His parents, other close relatives, and a number of exceptional teachers and mentors taught him to be fearless, which served him well throughout his life. Over the years, Paul experienced countless scrapes, cuts, bruises, and even broken bones, but he lived life to the fullest. He was extremely stubborn, never giving up on anyone or anything, sometimes earning him the nickname “Raging Bull”. Paul was able to accomplish almost everything he set out to accomplish, destroying disability stereotypes in the process.

Paul attended public school and later joined summer training programs at the Florida School for the Deaf and Blind in St. Augustine to learn additional skillsets. He learned Braille in first grade and learned to type in second grade. Paul credits Duval County resource teachers and many of his classroom teachers with his success in school. Fifteen years ago, he reconnected with his fifth grade Braille teacher, Miss Ann Henkel, and she has become a permanent fixture in the Kurtz family ever since. Paul was the first blind student in Duval County Schools and graduated from Robert E. Lee High School in 1970. He achieved numerous awards in high school, participated in student government, and was the first-ever blind Eagle Scout.

Music was a passion of Paul’s throughout his life. His father wanted him to play guitar, and his mom wanted him to play piano, so he learned both. Paul’s piano lessons initially included learning to play by ear, but he later learned to read Braille music. One day during a basketball game, Paul heard a trumpet in a Florida Gator cheer and wanted to know more. His parents rented him a trumpet, he started playing it in his junior high’s band and continued playing throughout his life.

After high school, Paul attended Florida Southern College in Lakeland, Florida, earning a Bachelor’s Degree in psychology in 1974. He was a member of the college concert band, the crew team, the student government, and the Who’s Who in American Colleges and Universities. He was heavily involved in his social fraternity, Phi Sigma Kappa, he was a “little brother” to the Alpha Gamma Delta Sorority and was a member of the Omicron Delta Kappa academic fraternity. Paul met and fell in love with Pamela Sue Clark, who was also a psychology student. The two married in the summer of 1974 and proceeded to FSU, where both earned their Master’s Degrees; Paul’s degree was in counseling, health, and rehabilitative services. Paul and Pam’s family expanded in 1978 with the birth of their son Paul, and again in 1982 with the birth of their daughter, Mallory.

Paul’s career path began at Florida Southern in telephone crisis counseling and then at FSU where he served as acting director of Disabled Student Services. In 1976, Paul obtained a rehabilitation instructor job at Independent Living for Adult Blind (ILAB) in Jacksonville, Florida, before briefly returning to FSU to complete his graduate studies. In 1980, Paul took a grant position working as a counselor for the Disabled Student Services program at Florida Junior College. It was during this time, he also pursued a degree in computer science, which would have a profound impact on the rest of his career. In 1982, Paul was hired as a GS-9-Level Equal Employment Opportunity (EEO) Counseling Specialist under the Commanding Officer at the Naval Air Aviation Depot (now Fleet Readiness Center) where he dealt with EEO and other employee complaints. After earning his computer science degree in 1985, Paul was laterally transferred into a Programmer position, beginning his nineteen-year career as a computer professional, which he ended as a Systems Administrator. He made many friends during this phase of his career with two special ones being Ken Heselschwerdt and Russ McMinn who he has remained in contact with and had lunch with regularly. During his career, Paul was granted national top secret security clearance, became Chairman of the Captain’s EEO Advisory Committee, President of the Mayor’s Disability Council for the City of Jacksonville, and served as the chief negotiator for a major federal employee contract at the Fleet Readiness Center.

After retirement in 2006, Paul planned to return to school to pursue a degree in music. Instead, it was necessary for him to accept a JAWS instructor position with ILAB at Florida State College. Starting in 2008, he attended music school at Jacksonville University under Professor Bill Schirmer, putting him only two semesters away from completing a second Bachelor’s Degree in music education. Unfortunately, Paul was never able to complete this endeavor. He thoroughly enjoyed playing his trumpet in community bands, at church, at events, and for anyone who wanted to listen. When Paul originally considered switching to a music education career, Braille books were not readily available. Since 1984 and at his own expense, Paul has provided over 35 music method books to the Library of Congress.

In 2008, Paul was introduced to the Florida Council of the Blind where he held the office of Vice President for his local chapter and received the Cooke Award. He also served as President for the Clay Council of the Blind. Paul served as Treasurer for the Coalition for Concerns of the Totally Blind (CCTB), served on the Board of Friends of Library Access, Inc., and served on the Board of I Read I See (IRIS) Lending Library, Inc.

Paul’s love of music covered many genres with classic rock, bluegrass and jazz being his favorites. Paul played in multiple bands over the years including the Jacksonville Community Band, Class Act, the Recycles, and the Bold City Brass, to name a few. He was also a member of the International Trumpet Guild (ITG) where he met numerous musicians that he admired and became friends with, such as Doc Severinsen, Malcolm McNabb, and Ryan Gardner. The annual ITG conferences are held in different cities and countries, giving Paul the opportunity to explore new places. About twenty years ago, he traveled to the ITG conference in Thailand where he spent 11 days exploring, mostly on his own. Many people, blind or sighted, might have found traveling to a foreign country alone intimidating, but Paul found it to be an exciting adventure. More recently, Paul, with his friend Chris created a music podcast, Journey Into Jazz.

Paul was a devout Christian. He was an elder at Christian Family Fellowship where he had been a member over forty years, many of those under the leadership of Pastor Marty Davey. He was a leader in the Men’s Ministry program, was on the church’s advisory council, participated in the prison ministry, sang in the choir, played trumpet, and had numerous very close friends there that he considered family. Paul loved to serve the church in any capacity, whether it was filling in for the Pastor to give the sermon, counseling, setting up chairs, or painting picnic tables.

Paul was an avid reader and enjoyed reading 3-4 books most months. He had read the Bible cover to cover several times. He thoroughly enjoyed reading books on World War II and other historical events, as well as books on musicians and actors he admired. Paul loved the outdoors. He would sit for hours in his wrought iron patio swing soaking in “Mr. Golden Sun”, as he called it. He would relax in his hot tub as often as possible, whether it was 30 degrees or 100 degrees outside. He loved the sounds of the birds and squirrels. He loved listening to the dogs chase lizards around the yard. This was his happy place.

Paul had an amazing memory. He stored hundreds of phone numbers, addresses and email addresses in his head, not in his phone like most people. He could recognize the voice of someone he had not been in contact with for decades. Everywhere he went, he ran into people he knew, even out of state. He also had an unbeatable sense of direction. He could guide you almost anywhere around Jacksonville and most of the State of Florida. When riding in a car, he knew where he was turn for turn, often keeping the driver from getting lost.

Paul never forgot those individuals that assisted him in various ways throughout his life. His parents who made him tough, his Aunt Vivian and Uncle Doyle who were a huge part of his childhood adventures, the teachers who ensured learning materials were accessible to him, close friends who rode bikes and skated with him, mentors and Boy Scout leaders, band directors who believed in his talent, several coworkers who he still has lunch with on a regular basis, church friends, band members, and others who gave him numerous car rides, including Patrick Bunaisky, those who read to him while he would Braille music and other information, his current wife Bonnie who read music to him all through college and Larry Tallman who currently read all of his music to him, and of course his sister who has always been one of his biggest supporters overall.

A memorial service will be held at Lakeshore Baptist Church, 2365 Blanding Boulevard, Jacksonville, FL 32210, on Saturday, September 28, 2024, at 2:00pm. For those unable to attend in-person, the family has provided a YouTube channel link to access a livestream of the service. Please access the YouTube channel on September 28th for further instructions. https://www.youtube.com/@FriendsofPaulKurtzJr

In lieu of flowers, please consider a donation to non-profit organizations that were dear to Paul’s heart:

Christian Family Fellowship, 7216 Old Middleburg Rd S., Jacksonville, FL 32222-1875

I Read I See (IRIS) Lending Library for the Blind, Inc., 9501 Arlington Expressway, Suite 225, Jacksonville, FL 32225 (https://www.irisllb.org/)

Friends of Library Access, Inc., PO Box 10716, Daytona Beach, FL 32120-0716 (Welcome | Friends Of Library Access).