David Gregory Kuhn, 70, suffered a major cardiac event and died at his home in Jacksonville, Illinois on August 17, 2022.
He was born to Frank and Virginia Kuhn in Englewood, New Jersey in the wee hours of July 5. He always thought the fireworks were for his birthday and felt a special connection to the founding of our republic.
He is survived by his wife of forty years, Helen Cole Kuhn, who he recruited as an engineer to Westinghouse in Virginia; his sons, Stephen Kuhn (wife Adrienne Knapp) and Erik Kuhn (fiancée Jessica Youngblood) all of Saint Louis, Missouri; his brother, Frank Kuhn of Pisgah, North Carolina; his In-laws: Alex and Mary Cole of Jacksonville and Heather Cole of Saint Paul, Minnesota; his nephews Dan Cole (Cynthia) and Tyler Cole; his Myrtle Beach relatives: special aunt, Ruth Kuhn, and her family – Linda and Doug Casey, Ashley and Maci Casey, Derek Casey and Elizabeth Bitonti; and his honorary grandchildren - the Jared and Katie Sank family (Robert, Brandi, and Thomas) of Tennessee, who were his home-away-from-home family as he traveled to South Carolina. He was preceded in death by his parents, brother-in-law Roger Cole, and sister-in-law Barbara Kuhn.
Transplanted from New York to North Carolina at an early age, he grew up trying to mesh a southern accent with some Brooklyn/Bronx influence or vice versa. This relocation did not stop him from being a lifelong fan of the New York Yankees with a passion for baseball statistics. As the south was in a time of transition, his family had to work to overcome their automatic “damned Yankee” label. A childhood illness that kept him home for an extended period gave him plenty of time to read and develop a love of all history. He spent many summers with his grandmother in Myrtle Beach where he became fascinated with pirate history and developed a deep love of fishing and the coast. He graduated from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill where he lived on the same floor as the Carolina Basketball players. He could not help becoming a dedicated Tar Heels basketball fan.
He started his career in human resources as a recruiter for Westinghouse Electric Corporation, ultimately working in human resources in various roles at the Hanford nuclear site near Richland, Washington; South Boston, Virginia; and Pensacola, Florida. Through mergers and promotions, he moved to Allen-Bradley in El Paso, Texas; ABB in Saint Louis, Missouri; and he ended that career as a Human Resources Director, based in Jacksonville, Illinois for ACH Foods.
After leaving the corporate world, he pursued his passion for mentoring others by going back to school to get a teaching certificate, while his sons finished high school. He taught in the Bluffs school district, several homeschool associations, and regularly served as a long-term substitute teacher at Turner Junior High. He was extraordinary at helping students (and others) understand why history and the U.S. constitution were important to them. He was indebted to Pat Kelly who helped him navigate his time at Turner. He was director of the Illinois College Pioneer Life Day Camp at New Salem for several years and served as a volunteer career coach at the Illinois College Career Center.
In his spare time, he did dinner theater, radio broadcasting, and strategic board games. He was active in the dinner theater in Hanford, Washington and South Boston, Virginia and was seen performing at New Salem and the Jacksonville Theater Guild occasionally. His voice was often what people remembered about him. He served as a deacon for the First Presbyterian Church, as well as on the United Way and Jacksonville Heritage Museum boards, and the Grierson Days committee.
While living in Jacksonville, he figured out how to combine his passions for acting, teaching, and history by doing living history. With his family, he participated in historical reenactments and made friends all over the eastern half of the United States including Gettysburg; St. Augustine, Florida; Mobile, Alabama; Shiloh, Tennessee; and many places in Illinois and Missouri. In Jacksonville, he is most recognizable for portraying local Civil War hero General Benjamin Grierson at Grierson Days, Turner Junior High Walking Tour and Civil War days, the Chautauqua, parades, concerts in Springfield and Jacksonville, and many other events.
After retiring from teaching, he continued his love of baseball through fantasy baseball leagues for half of the year and his love of Carolina basketball for the rest of the year. He volunteered with the National Park Service Amtrak train program. He returned to Myrtle Beach whenever possible. A wonderful day meant fishing on the pier or in the surf and swapping stories with all comers about the ones that got away before heading out to a family dinner of Oysters Rockefeller and She-crab soup. His fascination with the ocean and history never waned.
He touched the lives of many people and lived a more unique life than many may have ever realized. He could talk the ear off a complete stranger but come away knowing their life story and their hopes and dreams. Yet, he always liked to keep a little mystery for himself. A man of stalwart principle, he was steadfast in the support his of family - both by blood and chosen. He will be missed by all those whose lives he made better.
A celebration of life event will happen in the late spring/early summer when we can be back outside. In the meantime, please share stories through Williamson Funeral Home’s website. He loved a good story. Memorials are suggested to the Jacksonville Area Museum (www.jacksonvilleareamuseum.org), the Alzheimer’s Association (www.alz.org), the American Heart Association (www.heart.org), the First Presbyterian Church, or the Jacksonville Rotary Club Foundation. Condolences and stories may be shared at www.airsman-hires.com.
To share a memory or send a condolence gift, please visit the Official Obituary of David Gregory Kuhn hosted by Airsman-Hires Funeral Home.
David Gregory Kuhn, 70, suffered a major cardiac event and died at his home in Jacksonville, Illinois on August 17, 2022.
He was born to Frank and Virginia Kuhn in Englewood, New Jersey in the wee hours of July 5. He always thought the fireworks were for his birthday and felt a special connection to the founding of our republic.
He is survived by his wife of forty years, Helen Cole Kuhn, who he recruited as an engineer to Westinghouse in Virginia; his sons, Stephen Kuhn (wife Adrienne Knapp) and Erik Kuhn (fiancée Jessica Youngblood) all of Saint Louis, Missouri; his brother, Frank Kuhn of Pisgah, North Carolina; his In-laws: Alex and Mary Cole of Jacksonville and Heather Cole of Saint Paul, Minnesota; his nephews Dan Cole (Cynthia) and Tyler Cole; his Myrtle Beach relatives: special aunt, Ruth Kuhn, and her family – Linda and Doug Casey, Ashley and Maci Casey, Derek Casey and Elizabeth Bitonti; and his honorary grandchildren - the Jared and Katie Sank family (Robert, Brandi, and Thomas) of Tennessee, who were his home-away-from-home family as he traveled to South Carolina. He was preceded in death by his parents, brother-in-law Roger Cole, and sister-in-law Barbara Kuhn.
Transplanted from New York to North Carolina at an early age, he grew up trying to mesh a southern accent with some Brooklyn/Bronx influence or vice versa. This relocation did not stop him from being a lifelong fan of the New York Yankees with a passion for baseball statistics. As the south was in a time of transition, his family had to work to overcome their automatic “damned Yankee” label. A childhood illness that kept him home for an extended period gave him plenty of time to read and develop a love of all history. He spent many summers with his grandmother in Myrtle Beach where he became fascinated with pirate history and developed a deep love of fishing and the coast. He graduated from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill where he lived on the same floor as the Carolina Basketball players. He could not help becoming a dedicated Tar Heels basketball fan.
He started his career in human resources as a recruiter for Westinghouse Electric Corporation, ultimately working in human resources in various roles at the Hanford nuclear site near Richland, Washington; South Boston, Virginia; and Pensacola, Florida. Through mergers and promotions, he moved to Allen-Bradley in El Paso, Texas; ABB in Saint Louis, Missouri; and he ended that career as a Human Resources Director, based in Jacksonville, Illinois for ACH Foods.
After leaving the corporate world, he pursued his passion for mentoring others by going back to school to get a teaching certificate, while his sons finished high school. He taught in the Bluffs school district, several homeschool associations, and regularly served as a long-term substitute teacher at Turner Junior High. He was extraordinary at helping students (and others) understand why history and the U.S. constitution were important to them. He was indebted to Pat Kelly who helped him navigate his time at Turner. He was director of the Illinois College Pioneer Life Day Camp at New Salem for several years and served as a volunteer career coach at the Illinois College Career Center.
In his spare time, he did dinner theater, radio broadcasting, and strategic board games. He was active in the dinner theater in Hanford, Washington and South Boston, Virginia and was seen performing at New Salem and the Jacksonville Theater Guild occasionally. His voice was often what people remembered about him. He served as a deacon for the First Presbyterian Church, as well as on the United Way and Jacksonville Heritage Museum boards, and the Grierson Days committee.
While living in Jacksonville, he figured out how to combine his passions for acting, teaching, and history by doing living history. With his family, he participated in historical reenactments and made friends all over the eastern half of the United States including Gettysburg; St. Augustine, Florida; Mobile, Alabama; Shiloh, Tennessee; and many places in Illinois and Missouri. In Jacksonville, he is most recognizable for portraying local Civil War hero General Benjamin Grierson at Grierson Days, Turner Junior High Walking Tour and Civil War days, the Chautauqua, parades, concerts in Springfield and Jacksonville, and many other events.
After retiring from teaching, he continued his love of baseball through fantasy baseball leagues for half of the year and his love of Carolina basketball for the rest of the year. He volunteered with the National Park Service Amtrak train program. He returned to Myrtle Beach whenever possible. A wonderful day meant fishing on the pier or in the surf and swapping stories with all comers about the ones that got away before heading out to a family dinner of Oysters Rockefeller and She-crab soup. His fascination with the ocean and history never waned.
He touched the lives of many people and lived a more unique life than many may have ever realized. He could talk the ear off a complete stranger but come away knowing their life story and their hopes and dreams. Yet, he always liked to keep a little mystery for himself. A man of stalwart principle, he was steadfast in the support his of family - both by blood and chosen. He will be missed by all those whose lives he made better.
A celebration of life event will happen in the late spring/early summer when we can be back outside. In the meantime, please share stories through Williamson Funeral Home’s website. He loved a good story. Memorials are suggested to the Jacksonville Area Museum (www.jacksonvilleareamuseum.org), the Alzheimer’s Association (www.alz.org), the American Heart Association (www.heart.org), the First Presbyterian Church, or the Jacksonville Rotary Club Foundation. Condolences and stories may be shared at www.airsman-hires.com.
To share a memory or send a condolence gift, please visit the Official Obituary of David Gregory Kuhn hosted by Airsman-Hires Funeral Home.
