Kurt and I became best friends in Mrs. Dawson’s Kindergarten class. From that point on we were inseparable. In the elementary years we spent every summer together riding bikes in the lakebed, catching lizards, playing video games, sleepovers, driving RC cars and living our best lives. In our teenage years we did everything together from chasing girls to working out and even family vacations. We remained close friends and talked regularly up until his passing. Kurt was the best friend that you could ask for. His laugh was infectious and he was always happy. He was fun, loving, never got upset and constantly found the humor in every situation. We spent many hours on the phone talking about nothing important, but it was always great to hear from him and talk about the good ol’ days. His heart was pure gold and he will be missed tremendously. Love you Kurt.
Kurtis and I became friends in second grade in Ms Horn’s class at FCS. He took me to the “Back of Glenview” which was the Yorba Linda Lakebed to go explore.
We became best friends, He introduced me to the Rocky movie series, we tent camped in his backyard, and had fun playing with his dog Boomer. We loved Kourtney’s cinnamon rolls for breakfast. We would play Scorch and Mortal Combat on his new CD ROM. We would sing word for word “Gangsta’s Paradise” by Koolio. We loved Ace Ventura with Jim Carrey. We went to Raging Waters for his birthday and after went to Korean BBQ. It was nice to see him at our 20 year Esperanza High School Reunion
I send my deepest condolences to the family. I will always remember Kurtis as a smart, funny, and caring guy. We spent an incredible summer together one year. I went with him to many RC tracks, we had multiple beach days, we would go for long walks and we had deep conversations. Kurt was incredibly talented with his hands and his brain. He also was a very good skateboarder. I will always have our memories to cherish and for that I am grateful. May he rest in eternal peace.
Once, when Kurtis was very young, I offered to babysit him while his Dad and Mom went out for the evening. They said there was food in the fridge for dinner. For some reason, I assumed that Kurtis had already eaten before I came over. So, once they had left, Kurtis and I got settled, and I made dinner for myself. Kurtis joined me at the table while I ate dinner. After a short while, he asked, "Can I have a slice of cheese?" Why yes, little man, you can have a slice of cheese. A bit later Kurtis asks again, "Can I have a slice of cheese?" Why yes, little man, you can have a slice of cheese. So, dinner is done and we mess around until its bed time. Kurtis asks yet again, "Can I have a slice of cheese?" My goodness, yes little man, you can have a slice of cheese. Dad and Mom come home, "Well, what did Kurtis have for dinner?" Uhhh.... 3 slices of cheese...?
A couple of years ago, I asked my brother if I could get nice portrait photographs of the family for my birthday, in particular, photographs of Kurtis and Susan. I had some vague idea of getting some straight forward, very staged, photographs of my nephew and niece. But what I got were these really authentic and joyful photographs of my nephew and niece near my parents graveside at Riverside National Cemetery. Beautiful and moving photographs. Living photographs. The opening photograph of this memorial site was taken during that photo shoot. I would really like my brother to leave a memorial about the day of that photo shoot.
I would tell Kurtis,i love you like a son that I didn't give birth to he would always smile really big when I said that to him. He would video call it seemed like every 3 months. He showed me his apartment and he was so proud of it, keeping it clean. His sister gave him some lights and he seemed really happy. He told me he missed my cooking. I will miss you Kurtis and our phone call.