Anne Belle Pavey Kurtz was born to Clarence Addison and Annie May Belle Taylor Pavey on March 23, 1928, at home on a farm in Union Township, Ohio. She was the ninth and youngest child, and lived there with her parents and brothers Taylor, Lawrence (Larry), Henry (Hank), Clarence Jefferson (Jeff), Bill, Bruce, and Elmer (Pete). Another brother had died before she was born.

After losing the family farm during the Great Depression, the family moved to Seattle in June 1931 in hopes of escaping the hard economic times and lived in a small house in West Seattle. Clarence worked hard to support his family at whatever jobs he could find: as an insurance salesman, a guard on the docks, and on some WPA projects. The older boys worked, too, picking fruit in Eastern Washington in the CCC camps and whatever other jobs they could find. It was a hard time, but the family survived and stayed together.

Anne attended school in Seattle, graduating from West Seattle High School in 1946. Shortly after graduating, Anne got a job at Puget Sound Power and Light Company in downtown Seattle. She worked there for five and a half years and then went to work as a secretary for her brother, Larry, who owned a paint store. In March 1956, she started working for United Airlines in the education department at Seattle Tacoma Airport. She was warned by her boss not to date the airline mechanics who came in to do their training, but she ignored this advice when she met Richard Kurtz who was not like the others. They became engaged in February 1957 and were married May 18, 1957. They moved into a brand-new house about four miles south of the Seattle Tacoma Airport. This is where their three children, Martin, Sherri, and Eric, were born.

The young family enjoyed camping and traveling. Some of their favorite destinations were Paradise at Mount Rainier and the Oregon and Washington coasts, and they also made use of Richard’s employee airline passes to travel to several places including Florida, California, Ohio, and Hawaii.

Anne was a lifelong learner. She enjoyed painting and photography, studying how to use cameras when they changed and improved throughout the years. She also taught herself to use a computer so she could work on her family history and communicate with family and friends using email. She and Richard grew a large, productive garden and they preserved much of what they grew, sharing the rest with friends and neighbors. When Martin left on his mission, Anne went to work at State Farm Insurance.

Anne and Richard loved to fish! Much of their free time was spent on the waters of Lake Washington and the Puget Sound getting their limit of the salmon in the area. To be honest, Richard was the one that really loved fishing; Anne just wanted to spend time with her husband.

Throughout the years, Anne and Richard added to and remodeled their home to make it just perfect for them. After Richard retired, however, they found out that they would be losing their beloved home through Eminent Domain to the State of Washington, which bought all the houses on their block with the intent of putting a road from the airport to I-5. Anne and Richard moved to Auburn, Washington, in November 2004. It had been a traumatic experience for them both, but especially for Richard, who had suffered two heart attacks about five years previously. He became ill in July 2006 and was hospitalized. He was diagnosed with cancer and passed away November 10, 2006.

Anne joined The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints in March 1957. In July 1990 she became a temple ordinance worker in the Seattle Temple and retired from there in June 2016. Over the years Anne served in different callings in the church: Primary (for children), Sunday school, and Relief Society (the women’s organization).

Anne had lived alone in the house in Auburn after Richard’s death, until moving to a small house on Eric and Lori’s property in West Richland, Washington, in November 2016. She lived there until August 2024, when she moved into Guardian Angel Homes in Richland. We would like to thank the staff there for their loving care of Anne during the last few months of her life. Anne died peacefully on February 15, 2025.

Anne was preceded in death by her parents and brothers, her husband, Richard, and their daughter, Sherri. She is survived by her sons Martin (LaRee) in Enoch, Utah, and Eric (Lori) in West Richland; son-in-law Kyle in Lehi, Utah; eighteen grandchildren and 26 great-grandchildren.

A viewing will be held Saturday, March 1, at 10:00 am at the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints chapel at 3701 Watkins Way in West Richland, followed by the funeral service at 11:00. Internment will be March 8 at Evergreen Washelli Funeral Home & Cemetery in Seattle, Washington.

Zoom link for the funeral: https://zoom.us/j/93856082049?pwd=Umc3S1JsbGZNSDU5eSs5OGhQejc0dz09