Arlene B. Kurtz

Arlene Beverly Kurtz

April 17, 1934 – January 15, 2023

Our Loving Mother, Arlene, was born in Mitchell, NE, to parents Avis and Jennings Childs. The family lived on a farm outside of Henry, Nebraska. In 1950, she married Leroy Rathbun and they lived in Henry until they divorced in 1960. Three children were born to that marriage – Rod, Teri and Debra. She and the children moved to Lyman, NE, then to Cheyenne, WY. They moved to Casper in 1965, making it home until her death. She was married to Ken Kurtz in Casper in 1969, until his passing in 2005. For the past several months, she stayed with and was cared for by daughter Debra and husband Ron in Prescott Valley, AZ, where she passed. Arlene became a loyal Wyomingite, but never forgot her Nebraskan roots.

While living in Cheyenne, Arlene studied to become an X-Ray Technologist and immediately took a Tech position at Memorial Hospital in Casper. Changing positions, she served as Office Manager for Casper Radiology over the following 20 years. She truly loved that profession and always valued her Techs. Wanting to stay active after retiring, she began working at Hill Music, doing books for Dan Hill. This was a compliment to her love of music. At the same time, she was on the Board of the Izaak Walton League in Casper and became Treasurer and Bookkeeper. She maintained that position until last February. Health had interfered!

With Arlene, family came first! Her love was known and shown! Helping and encouraging was her priority. That gift was often shown towards those in her path. She loved family activities, especially birthdays, holidays and sported several quirky surprise outings with her grandchildren. Her generosity was a shining force in her life. Arlene instilled truth, honesty and fairness into her children while displaying simple loving compassion.

Arlene treated life as the adventure many people miss. She and Ken traveled, seeing family, pursuing clocks for Ken's business, and ending up with antiques in the mix. During her years, lifelong friends were established - the "3 amigos" being inseparable! Arlene was a mentor to younger gals that came along and enriched her life. Many treasured relationships developed over the years with Arlene considering a host of them 'her family'.

Arlene was an accomplished pianist and organist. She was a knitter, loved reading and was fond of cooking. Her peanut brittle and chocolate brownies were enjoyed by a myriad of folks over and over. She wasn't interested in parking in front of the TV. Instead, background music, with book in hand, brought simple contentment to her days.

Arlene attended Calvary Baptist Church, with her family, where services will be held on Friday, February 3, 2023, at 1 PM.

Arlene was preceded in death by her parents, infant brother Dale, sister Myrna and husband Ken. She is survived by her children, Rod (Kathe) Rathbun, Teri (John) McCallum, Debra (Ron) DelSordo, Steven (Libby) Kurtz and Carol Reed. She is also survived by 6 grandchildren and 16 great grandchildren.

How we will miss our Momma, a friend to all who chose to get to know her. Her kindness, gentle manner and sweet smile warmed hearts and will forever be in our fondest memories.


Arrangements are under the direction of Newcomer Casper. To leave the family a special message, please select the "Share Memories" option.