John Edward Kuhar

He is survived by our mother, Jill Stiers Kuhar, his wife of 57 years; his two sisters, Tarrilyn Kuhar and Gerrilyn Anson, both of Illinois; five daughters; seven grandchildren; and two great-grandchildren.

Dad was born on April 8th, 1943 in Spring Valley, Illinois (Bureau County) to John Joseph Kuhar and Mary Louise Suarez.

He grew up on the Illinois River and spent much of his childhood and early adulthood outdoors in the fields, forests, streams, ponds, and lakes where he continued the tradition of reverent appreciation of wilderness and wildlife and grew into an avid outdoorsman. One of the magical things he could do is call Canada geese with his own voice (no call) – he would call to a distant flock, and it was amazing to see them change direction and fly directly over us.

He grew up in DePue, Illinois, graduating in the class of 1961 and going on to get his Bachelors of Arts at Illinois Wesleyan where he met our mother, Jill Frances Stiers. They married May 15th, 1965.

Dad continued his education and obtained his Master of Arts degree at Bradley University and then taught English at the University of North Dakota, Grand Forks, where the first daughter was born, and subsequently taught and pursued his Ph.D. at Miami of Ohio in Oxford, where a second daughter came along.

He left Miami when they did away with the benefit that children of faculty could attend Miami for free. That and the arrival of the twin—daughters three and four—and the challenges of supporting a family of six on a professor’s salary.

That's how we ended up in Moline, Illinois, world headquarters for Deere & Company, where he became Editor in Chief of Publications and where daughter number five was born. He worked for Deere for 27 years and finished out his career on special assignment as the Authoring Center Process Administrator for the Technical Information Authoring Center (TIAC), retiring on December 31st, 2001.

In 2012, he and Mom moved to Colorado to join their daughters, who had all moved here over the years. They landed in Berthoud, Colorado just in time to be able to take in their second daughter’s family, who were displaced during the September 2013 floods, for eight full weeks—two adults, two children, two dogs, and a salamander—which they did with open arms, no conditions, and all love.

Dad had a razor-sharp wit which masked (not entirely) a heart of gold. We all inherited his sense of humor, and we still like to make any situation lighter through cracking a joke or a terrible pun (much to the chagrin of some.)

He had the perfect voice for reading us to sleep every night, especially from the Laura Ingalls Wilder books and JRR Tolkien, instilling in us all a love for books and reading. All five of us girls would climb into our parents’ king bed on either side of him and he would read from “Little House in the Big Woods” or another book in the series.

The home we grew up in in Illinois was built in 1916 and had only one bathroom – every morning, Dad would be up early and out the door to work to make room for the trail of girls needing to get ready for school. He worked so hard during the week, we relished when it was finally the weekend and we would spend the days in our pajamas reading The Far Side, Calvin and Hobbes, and Pogo comics.

He always showed his love for us in many small actions. Always having a handkerchief for us during our long winter walks in the woods. Making sure the fire in the fireplace was always blazing nicely to keep us warm when it was cold.

Dad shared with us his love and respect for nature. He taught us all how to recognize different types of birds. And his excitement over spotting any wild animal was especially contagious. We are very grateful that he took us with him when he went fishing, an activity usually meant to be enjoyed alone.

Aside from teaching us big things like how to ride a bike and how to drive, Dad was always teaching us about something. He would always point something out and explain it thoroughly, fostering curiosity and wonder that will stay with us forever.

Donations to Ducks Unlimited (or the conservation organization of your choosing) directly supports the preservation of wild land, which was very important to our father. Memorial contributions to Ducks Unlimited can be made in our Father’s name here: https://www.ducks.org/support/donateOnlineSecure.aspx?promoKey=MemorialHonorGiving&ID=4889&poe=siteGInav

A Celebration of John's Life was held at Ahlberg Funeral Chapel in Longmont, CO on Friday, October 14, 2022, followed by a Reception. John's family extends their gratitude to all those that were able to attend and remember John together. A service will also take place at a later date in DePue, Illinois. Fond memories of John and expressions of sympathy are welcome at www.ahlbergfuneralchapel.com.