Louis Nicholas Kuehler, Jr.

Nick Kuehler was known as a family man. Although Nick was a somewhat reserved man, he was very open in expressing his feelings. He was generous, compassionate, loving, adventurous and spontaneous. He cared deeply for his family and wanted the best for his children, whether it was making sure they went to church every Sunday or showing them the world.

Louis Nicholas Kuehler, Jr. ("Nick") entered this world at 4:14 a.m. on July 20, 1940. He was born in Houston, Texas and was the first of two sons of Louis Nicholas Kuehler, Sr. and Beulah Jane Hill Kuehler. Nick was raised with his brother, Charles Wayne, in the Houston area, moved to LaPorte in his teen years and graduated from high school there.

Nick had many diverse interests while growing up. He was very active in boy scouts, loved to fish, and started playing the piano at age 14.

He met Elizabeth Anne Williams ("Anne") at St. Marys Catholic Church in LaPorte, Texas at CCD in 1958 where they were later married on July 1, 1961. They started their family shortly afterwards. Nick was the proud father of three daughters (Mary Catherine "Cathy", Mary Elizabeth "Liz", Mary Christina "Tina"). He was also blessed with two granddaughters (Adrienne Christine and Ashley Marie), four grandsons (Christopher Wade, Lukas Zane, Brandon Ray, Dillan Cade), two great-granddaughters (Lydia Claire and Colette Faye). He loved his grandchildren dearly, and is remembered as often saying, "Guess What?....I LOVE YOU!".

Nick's first job was delivering the Houston Press newspaper using his Cushman Eagle scooter with side car at the age of 12. He then worked as a car hop at Dairy Queen. His first full-time job was a surveyor for the Corps of Engineers. He then worked at Todd Shipyards under the guidance of his father-in-law. Shortly after that, he decided to enter the airline industry. He went to work for National Airlines as a ramp agent and never looked back. He advanced within the company through roles of ticket counter agent, accounting, and specialized customer service. He survived transition of the company to Pan Am Airlines and eventually Delta Airlines. He retired at the age of 60 with 35 years of dedicated service. Working in the airline industry gave him the opportunity to travel the world with his wife and three daughters. He visited Italy, Greece, Belgium, Lebanon, Switzerland, Ireland, Brazil, Ecuador, Columbia, Mexico, Canada, Panama, Germany, Portugal, Spain, Japan, Hong Kong, Australia, England, Bahamas, Bermuda, Aruba, Jamaica, and many U.S. cities and territories.

Many precious memories were captured by Nick's passion of photography and videography. He had a camera in hand at all times determined to grasp every possible moment. This passion along with an innate interest in electronics passed down from his father led into a passion later in life for visual electronics. Indeed, he did need some way to convert all of those picture slides to something that could be viewed in modern technology!

Nick was a very religious man. His love of the Catholic church, it's history, the saints and the Mass led to a strong spiritual foundation for his children. He was an active participant of the Knights of Columbus as well.

He is survived by his wife - Elizabeth Anne Kuehler, his daughters and son-in-law - Catherine Kuehler, Liz Buchanan, Tina and Jeff Bontrager, his brother and sister-in-law - Wayne and Annee Kuehler, his grandchildren - Adrienne Gebhardt, Ashley Waldrop, Chris Wootton, Lukas Bontrager, Brandon Buchanan, Dillan Bontrager, and his great-grandchildren - Lydia and Colette Gebhardt.

Nick will be missed by many more family members and friends.