Noel E. Kurt, 86, of Dubuque passed away peacefully on January 13, 2024, at Hawkeye Care Center in Dubuque.

Friends and family may visit from 3:00 p.m. to 7:00 p.m. on Thursday, January 18, 2024, at Leonard Funeral Home & Crematory, 2595 Rockdale Road, where a parish Wake Service will begin at 3:00 p.m.

Mass of Christian Burial will held at Holy Spirit Parish, Holy Trinity Catholic Church on Friday, January 19 at 10:00 a.m. with Fr. Steve Garner officiating. Burial will be at Mount Olivet Cemetery in Dubuque.

He was born December 12, 1937, in Iowa City, son of Fred and Nora (Devaney) Kurt.  He graduated from St. Columbkille’s High School in 1956 where he was a lettered athlete in multiple sports.  Noel attended Loras College for two years.

He met the love of his life, Betty Jean Kass, at St. Columbkille’s Fall Festival and married her on August 10, 1963, at St. Columbkille’s in Dubuque.  They were married for 46 years before Betty passed away in 2010.  He and Betty were blessed with 10 children, and they made an amazing parenting team. They had a wonderful marriage and modeled that for their children.  The most serious issue in their marriage was probably when he was too eager of a volunteer taste tester for her holiday cookies.

He worked for many years in the auto parts industry at Sieg, Big A Auto Parts and IWI Motor Parts. In retirement he was a volunteer at Meals-on-Wheels and Finley Hospital.  He was a member of Holy Trinity Catholic Church for the past 54 years.

He spent a lot of time as a supportive spectator for his kids and grandkids, played a lot of golf in retirement and liked a good game of Euchre.  He enjoyed watching many sports on TV – except soccer, or as he would call it “kickball”.   He was a big Iowa Hawkeye Fan and was excited when his beloved Cubs won the World Series.  In close games, he might yell at the TV and Betty would remind him that they couldn’t hear him.

He looked forward to the annual Boy’s Trip with his six sons. They would take an RV trip to an away Hawkeye football game. The trip included a nice meal, a glass of wine and the inevitable sour face he would make when he sipped the wine.

He had a sweet tooth, especially for chocolate.  His only regret in all his years of marriage was that they did not have chocolate cake at the wedding.  Grandkids were known to call and ask if it was a good day for the Dairy Queen, “It’s always a good day for the Dairy Queen” was his response.

He told lots of dad jokes, but he would sometimes laugh so hard that by the end, the punchline couldn’t be understood.  Although he had been slipping away for a while, he was able to maintain his sense of humor until the end using some of his standard one-liners.

Surviving are his 10 children, Pam Ewald of Dubuque, Noel (Sandra) Kurt of Cedar Rapids, Kim (Dave) Kern of Dubuque, Cindy (Chuck) Kutsch of Dubuque, Karl (Lori) Kurt of Independence, Nick (Abbey) Kurt of Shawnee KS, Kevin (Elisa) Kurt of Waunakee WI, Ken (Kate) Kurt, Digger (Beth) Kurt, Connie (Ben) Nessan all of Dubuque; 33 grandchildren, 4 great-grandchildren. a sister Dianne (Don) Simon of Cuba City, three sisters-in-law Mary Ann Steffen, Rose Hartung, Mary Agnes Kass all of Dubuque, and numerous nieces and nephews.

He was preceded in death by his loving wife Betty, brothers Leon, Mark and Rev. David Kurt, sisters Mary Edith and Natalie Kurt and June Manning.

In lieu of flowers, donations can be made to the Boys and Girls Club of Dubuque in memory of Noel Kurt.

The family would like to thank Hawkeye Care Center and Hospice of Dubuque for their compassionate care for our beloved father.