Joseph Kuehn

On Thursday, October 13th, Joseph W. Kuehn Jr. passed away from age related causes at age 88.  He was born in 1934, in Pittsburgh, PA to Joseph and Hedwig Kuehn.  He is survived by his wife Nancy, of sixty years.  He is remembered fondly by his three children and their spouses: Joe III and Noriko Kuehn, Rob and Brenda Kuehn and Eva (Dougherty) and John, and seven grandchildren. His grandchildren were the light of his life, and he took great pleasure in their frequent visits and calls. 

He recalled, as a child, secretly listening to Pittsburgh Pirates baseball games on his radio under the covers when he was supposed to be sleeping.  After graduating from Franklin and Marshall College (where he played football and joined the AFROTC), he joined the USAF and met Nancy while stationed at Elmendorf AFB near Anchorage, AK.  From there, his assignments took his family all over the US, Germany (twice) and Spain.  In 1978, after serving for 23 years, he retired as a Major at Eglin AFB, FL, where he announced to his family that they were moving to “God’s Country”, specifically, Oregon. 

In retirement, Joe pursued many interests.  He sang in local choirs – at Queen of Peace Catholic Church, in the Willamette Master Chorus and occasionally in the Oregon Festival Choral. He was very active in the Chemeketans club - hiking all over the NW. He literally also backpacked the globe – including Australia, Patagonia, Iceland, South Africa, Eastern Europe and other locales.  He could have sold tickets to his Japanese-inspired garden which he worked in for many hours and loved.  

His family is extremely grateful that Joe was able to spend his last years as a resident of the Edward C. Allworth Veteran’s home in Lebanon, OR.  The wonderful staff there enjoyed his sense of humor and singing.  He was regularly visited there by Deacon Richard Triska. They spent their time discussing world events, theology and Joe’s deep Catholic faith. 

Joe’s life spanned from the end of the Great Depression to color TV, cell phones, and self-driving electric vehicles.  He had a vivid imagination, and shared many ideas for his grandchildren to pursue.  Most of the ideas involved caring for the environment, getting a master’s degree or travel overseas, which reflected some of his core values and passions. 

A funeral mass will be held at Queen of Peace church in Salem, OR on Thursday, November 3rd. In lieu of flowers donations can be made in Joe’s memory to 1000 Friends of Oregon or Oregon Wild.