David B. Kuhn Jr.

On March 21, 2026, with his wife Rosemarie by his side, David B. Kuhn, Jr. of Newport Beach, CA, age 82, joined The Long Gray Line, where Army beats Navy every time in football and hickory burgers from The Apple Pan are always on the menu.

Dave was born in Oak Park, Illinois on May 31, 1943 to Emily Askew Kuhn and David B. Kuhn, a pilot for TWA. His family, including older sister Thekla and younger brother John, relocated to Los Angeles, eventually residing in the Brentwood neighborhood. Dave attended Brentwood Elementary, Paul Revere Junior High, and University High School, where he was a top student, star athlete on the football, basketball, and track teams, and a member of the Deacons Club. It was at Uni that he met some of his best friends and the love of his life, Rosemarie Stanton. After graduating in the Winter 1961 class, Dave enrolled briefly at UCLA before reporting to West Point, where he excelled in academics, athletics, and leadership. Dave majored in engineering, graduating in the top of 5% in his class, and he held the position of Brigade Executive Officer, serving as second in command. At West Point, Dave was an accomplished track and field athlete, setting records in the long jump and triple jump. During his time as a cadet, he and Rosemarie kept their love alive, with Rosemarie being crowned West Point Homecoming Queen in 1963 and eventually relocating to New York City to pursue a career in modeling so they could be closer together. Dave and Rosemarie were engaged shortly before he graduated in 1965 and married later that year on December 21, 1965 at Trinity Baptist Church in Santa Monica with a reception at the Bel Air Hotel.

Following his graduation, Dave attended flight school and became a first lieutenant in the Air Force, which led Rosemarie and Dave to move around between Arizona, Oklahoma, South Carolina, and Ohio, where their son David Edward was born in 1969. He deployed to Vietnam in 1968 and flew an AC-119K with the 18th Special Operations Squadron, as well as C-141 special missions. After bravely serving his country, earning two Distinguished Flying Crosses and 10 Air Medals, Dave followed in his father’s footsteps and became a commercial pilot for Pacific Southwest Airlines (PSA). In a pivot that would define the rest of his professional career, Dave applied for a job at the Irvine Company, where he worked on projects such as Promontory Point and the master plan of the Village of Woodbridge in Irvine, CA. During this time, his daughter Rose Emily was born in 1976. After leaving the Irvine Company, he worked briefly at Cadillac Fairview, and eventually co-founded in 1982 his own land development company, Lane/Kuhn Pacific, with revered developer and his long-time mentor, Ron Lane. Dave’s crowning achievement, Eastlake in San Diego County, was the first master planned community in Chula Vista and included excellent schools, numerous parks and lakes, a golf course, and an Olympic training center. In the 1990s, Dave combined his love of sports and knowledge of military technology to found ProShot Golf, which used nascent GPS technology as part of a cart-mounted yardage system for golf course owners and operators.

In his personal life, perhaps Dave’s greatest achievements were his 60-year marriage to his high school sweetheart, Rosemarie, and the raising of their two children, named after both of Dave and Rosemarie’s parents. Dave remained an ardent supporter of West Point, serving as a trustee for seven years and traveling often with Rosemarie to catch football games in the fall. He was a devoted Christian, raised Southern Baptist and later a member of Methodist and Presbyterian churches, including St. Andrew’s in Newport Beach, where he served as a Deacon. A classic car enthusiast, cruciverbalist, and lifelong Angels and Rams fan, Dave was also a talented athlete in tennis, racquet

ball, and golf. He and Rosemarie traveled extensively, to Europe, Africa, Australia and New Zealand as a family, and on numerous bike riding trips through Ireland and the East Coast as a couple. In 2006 Dave was diagnosed with amyloidosis linked to Agent Orange exposure from his time serving in Vietnam. Following a successful kidney transplant from his daughter in 2014, Dave had a second lease on life. Eventually, he developed Parkinson’s, congestive heart failure, and skin cancer, all of which he fought bravely against until his final days. He spent his last hours with his son, daughter, and beloved wife, looking at family photos and listening to his favorite music of The Eagles, Elvis Presley, John Denver, Linda Ronstadt, and The Mills Brothers. Dave is survived by his wife of 60 years, Rosemarie Stanton Kuhn; his son David Kuhn; his daughter Rose Helm (Peter) and his only grandchild Rose Millicent Helm; as well as his nephew Elliott Kuhn (Vane) and grandniece Emilia.

Dave was always moved by the words of General Douglas MacArthur, spoken to the Corps of Cadets at West Point on May 12, 1962: “In the evening of my memory, I come back to West Point. Always there are echoes and re-echoes: Duty, Honor, Country. Today marks my final roll call with you. But I want you to know that when I cross the river, my last conscious thoughts will be of the Corps, and the Corps, and the Corps. I bid you farewell.”

A private military service will be held at Pacific View Cemetery on March 31, 2026, and a Celebration of Life will be held at a later date. In lieu of flowers, donations can be made in honor of David B. Kuhn, Jr. to Disabled American Veterans at www.dav.org or mailed to DAV – Disabled American Veterans, P.O. Box 14301, Cincinnati, OH 45250-0301.