Norman Kurtz

Norman F. Kurtz died Jan. 10, 2014.

All the stories and views into who he was — a musician, serviceman, journalist, any job one can think to do at a ski area, marketing, skier, sailor, golfer, pilot, photographer, father, radio host and again, one heck of a musician.

He was born in Seattle, Wash., on Sept. 25, 1927, the second son to Gus and Vida “Toots” Kurtz. He had a childhood of adventure, music and hard work. His stories of childhood years thrill us to this day. His older brother, Harold, was his music tutor, his nemesis, his brother, and in later years, his dear friend.

Norm was an entertainer from his early days, playing dance jobs at all sorts of establishments. His love of music went hand in hand with his quick wit and humor

Norm was also a veteran, serving the country in the Navy during World War II and later as a Marine during the Korean war.

He met his wife Carolee in Seattle, and not too long after they married, they moved to Whitefish. Simply seeking good skiing, they fell in love with the young ski area and the town and were hooked. They made Whitefish their home for more than 50 years, raising a family and immersing themselves in the growth of the Big Mountain and Whitefish.

At the Big Mountain Resort in Whitefish, Norm fought hard to make it a success under the tutelage of his former boss and friend Ed Schenck. He had a vision along with Ed of what the Mountain and Whitefish could be in the tourism industry.

Norm was instrumental in bringing the first time-share condominiums to Montana, with the Alpinglow Inn. He was also actively involved on the Montana Board of Tourism and the Montana Ski Area Operators Association,

 It was amazing how the pieces of his life connected. His ties to the Great Northern Railroad and his time at the Seattle Post-Intelligencer allowed him to connect the ski area to the railroad. This began a new chapter on the Big Mountain, with tourists arriving on ski trains from Seattle to Minneapolis and St. Paul.

While visiting St. Paul he attended the St. Paul Winter Carnival. After returning home from St. Paul, he and a few of his great friends wrote the original script for the Whitefish Winter Carnival. He figured that folks from town could use some mid-winter revelry and bring folks down from the Mountain to partake in Whitefish. He worked hard to make it a partnership between the Mountain and the Valley.  

Summers would find him on the water or in the air. He loved the sailboat races on Wednesday nights and also took many trips to the San Juan Islands to sail about there, with family in tow. He earned his pilot’s license and bought a plane and that was a new love.

Norm served for many years on the Glacier Park International Airport Board and worked very hard to bring in flights from Canada in the early days of Big Mountain. This connection with Canadian flights brought in more tourism through the creation of “Ski Weeks.”

After leaving Big Mountain, Norm started his own marketing business. Ski areas, credit unions and even the tourism industry benefited from his marketing. His voice was well known around the Flathead Valley, and he was famous for his “on hold” messages at the Whitefish Credit Union.

Norm was a people person. He loved to be around groups and take care of them. Entertaining with his quick wit, music and humor, he rarely left people without a smile on their faces.

Over the past few years, the dread disease Alzheimer’s dementia stole many of those great memories, but not before he wrote the book “Chair One.”

Norm is preceded in death by his parents, his older brother Hal and his wife Carolee who was his sounding board and partner for 51 years.

He leaves behind four children, Lisa Kurth, of Kent, Wash., Peter Kurtz, of Anaconda, Gretchen Murray and Val, Joni Wootton and John, of Kuna, Idaho; and six grandsons.

A memorial service will take place at Garden City Funeral Home, in Missoula, on Tuesday, Jan. 21, at 4  p.m. A celebration of life will be held in Whitefish later this year.

Memorials may be made in his name to the Alzheimer’s Association (alz.org), the Whitefish Ski Museum (www.fvsef.org/p/museum.html) and the Museum of Mountain Flying (http://museummountainflying.org/).