Duane "Jug" Kurtz

The Celebration of Life for Duane “Jug” I. Kurtz, age 94, will be on Wednesday, June 11, 2025, at 11 AM at Galchutt Lutheran Church, Galchutt, ND. Visitation will be from 10:30 – 11 AM also at the church. Interment at St. John’s Cemetery. Duane passed away peacefully on May 31, 2025 surrounded by those he loved and at total peace with all around him on his farm.

Jug was born on Valentine’s Day, February 14, 1931, to a third-generation pioneer farming family, Irvin and Hannah (Erickson) Kurtz. He was the 5th of six children. Jug attended local Galchutt schools and graduated from Wahpeton High School. Growing up on the farm, he dearly loved the life of a rural farmer and lived each day like it was a new adventure! He took over the farmland, the family farm near Galchutt, when his father retired in 1962. He was a member of Galchutt Lutheran Church and loved, loved the social life therein. He was a frequent a “regular” attendee at the community elevator Galchutt group, discussing crops and land issues. Jug loved all sports and played baseball until his 30’s. He played basketball in high school and watched all sports. Jug enjoyed many years of snowmobiling, ice fishing, hunting, watching the cows and the crops grow. Besides the farm life, Jug enjoyed socializing, telling many amazing tales of old and new, exploring curiosities of all the things living, current, and past. He enjoyed the company of many people near and far. He loved singing in the fields, oysters, a good steak, flowers, and his herd of cows.

Jug is survived by one sister, Phyllis (Sam) Palmer, Las Cruces, NM, nieces, Jerilyn (Rolf) Friemond, Germany, Kristen (John) Whitehead, Bellingham, WA, Judy Adams and Trina Ortiz, nephews, Loren (Friederike Backhaus) Lang, Germany and Scott (Jeneanne) Qualy, Denver, CO., and numerous extended family members abroad.

Jug is preceded in death by his parents, Irvin and Hannah Kurtz, two brothers, Darrel and Howard Kurtz, two sisters, Delores Lang and Virginia Crain, and also numerous uncles, aunts, and dear friends from the surrounding Richland County community.

He will be greatly missed but never forgotten, as this soil was him. A special thank you to his farm friends and dear helpers who sustained him for his final years, final day, and final minutes. A special thank you and appreciation to Doug Johnson, Jake Brewer, and Jeff Steger for their endless assistance in Duane’s life.

Memorials are preferred to the Galchutt Lutheran Cemetery Fund.