David Doty Kurtz

David Doty Kurtz

March 31, 1931 – August 30, 2026

David Doty Kurtz, 95, of Waite Hill Village, Ohio, passed away on Sunday, August 30, 2026.

He was born on March 31, 1931, in Cleveland, Ohio, to Wilbur F. Kurtz and Doris (Doty) Kurtz, who made their home on Shelbourne Road in Shaker Heights.

David grew up in Shaker Heights, attending Shaker Heights schools before graduating from Western Reserve Academy in 1950. He went on to Colgate University, where he majored in history and graduated in 1954. He proudly served in the United States Army, stationed in Japan, before returning home to Ohio.

David built his career as an investment counselor. His career, along with a lifelong interest in art, led him into a wide circle of friendships, including with Owen D. Young and Henry Francis of the Cleveland Museum of Art.

He and his wife, Gladys "Penny" (Goodwin) Kurtz, were married in 1962 and made their home in Shaker Heights and later Waite Hill Village.

David and Penny were longtime and active members of Old South Church in Kirtland. David served four terms as chairman of the Board of Trustees. He was also a member of Calvary Presbyterian Church in Cleveland. An avid reader of nonfiction, David was a proud member of the CLSC (Chautauqua Literary and Scientific Circle), the oldest continuous book club in America.

He and Penny spent every summer of their married life at her family's home at the Chautauqua Institution in western New York, a cottage called Foulkeholm, built in 1889, where David devoted countless hours to lovingly maintaining and updating it.

His other passions included art history, classical music, gardening, and traveling. David also had a lifelong fascination with architecture and construction — from his boyhood years through his retirement, he was known to wander uninvited onto home construction sites simply to observe the techniques and styles being used, a habit that never quite left him.

David also had a great fondness for the many four-legged family members who shared his life over the years.

David is survived by his wife, Gladys "Penny" Kurtz; his daughter, Martha L. Adams of Mentor, Ohio; his son, David D. (Kristen Wilmot) Kurtz, Jr. of Hudson, Ohio; and his grandchildren, William David Kurtz of Brecksville, Ohio, and Emma Goodwin Kurtz of Hudson, Ohio.

He was predeceased by his sister, Virginia Bonney of Morgantown, West Virginia.

A graveside memorial service will be held at 2 PM on Saturday, September 19, 2026, at Waite Hill Village Cemetery, followed by an informal visit at the family home in Waite Hill.