Durango honors Marine Capt. Jeff Kuss

Saturday, Jun 11, 2016 4:17 AM Updated Saturday, Jun. 11, 2016 2:12 PM

Native son who died in Blue Angels crash comes home

The top fighter jet begins to pull away in the Missing Man Formation during the graveside services of Marine Capt. Jeff Kuss at Greenmount Cemetery on Saturday afternoon.

Jerry McBride/Durango Herald

Durango honors Marine Capt. Jeff Kuss as the motorcade makes its way down Main Avenue on Saturday morning.

Jerry McBride/Durango Herald

A man signs a guest book amid a photo display of Capt. Jeff Kuss at a public reception for his family on Saturday at Fort Lewis College.

Jerry McBride/Durango Herald

Michael Kuss, father of the late Marine Capt. Jeff Kuss, receives hugs and kind words during the reception at Fort Lewis College following the graveside services at Greenmount Cemetery on Saturday afternoon.

Jerry McBride/Durango Herald

A man signs a guest book amid a photo display of Capt. Jeff Kuss at a public reception for his family on Saturday at Fort Lewis College. Photo by Jerry McBride/Durango Herald

People begin to gather Saturday afternoon to pay respects to the family of Marine Capt. Jeff Kuss. Photo by Jerry McBride/Durango Herald

Flowers were abundant Saturday at a public reception at Fort Lewis College for the family of Marine Capt. Jeff Kuss. Photo by Jessica Pace/Durango Herald

Family, friends and military colleagues of Capt. Jeff Kuss gather Saturday at a public reception for the family at Fort Lewis College. Photo by Jerry McBride/Durango Herald

Centerpieces used blue and yellow flowers to honor Capt. Jeff Kuss. The colors are shared by the Blue Angels, where Kuss was a pilot, and his alma mater, Fort Lewis College. Photo by Ann Butler/Durango Herald

A woman brought a sign honoring Blue Angels pilot Jeff Kuss to a reception at Fort Lewis College on Saturday. Photo by Jessica Pace/Durango Herald

People begin to gather for a public reception for the family of Marine Capt. Jeff Kuss on Saturday at Fort Lewis College. Photo by Luke Perkins/Durango Herald

The community paid its respects to the Kuss family Saturday afternoon at a public reception at Fort Lewis College. Twitter photo by Fort Lewis College

Photos of Marine Capt. Jeff Kuss were displayed Saturday at a public reception at Fort Lewis College. Kuss, a pilot with the Blue Angels, died June 2 in a crash. Photo by Jessica Pace/Durango Herald

“Here’s a guy who is a legitimate hero to the whole state,” Gov. John Hickenlooper said Friday afternoon. “He went to Fort Lewis. They told him, ‘Well, we’re not sure that’s the right school if you want to be a pilot.’ He said, ‘I don´t care. I want to go to Fort Lewis. I want to be a pilot. I want to do both.’ The guy clearly had focus.” Hickenlooper ordered flags at all public buildings statewide to be flown at half-staff from sunrise to sunset Saturday to honor Capt. Jeff Kuss on the day of his service. Photo by Jerry McBride/Durango Herald

Janet Kuss, mother of the late Marine Capt. Jeff Kuss, receives hugs and kind words during the reception at Fort Lewis College following the graveside services at Greenmount Cemetery on Saturday afternoon. Photo by Jerry McBride/Durango Herald

Family and friends of the late Marine Capt. Jeff Kuss attend the reception at Fort Lewis College following the graveside services at Greenmount Cemetery on Saturday afternoon. Photo by Jerry McBride/Durango Herald

Family and friends of the late Marine Capt. Jeff Kuss, attend the reception at Fort Lewis College following the graveside services at Greenmount Cemetery on Saturday afternoon. Photo by Jerry McBride/Durango Herald

Mary Anne Nelson, writes down a memory of the late Marine Capt. Jeff Kuss, who she had as a student at Sunnyside Elementary School. “He was one of the greatest kids I’ve worked with, and if you ever met him you’d never forget him,” Nelson said during the reception at Fort Lewis College following the graveside services at Greenmount Cemetery on Saturday afternoon. Photo by Jerry McBride/Durango Herald

Durango honors Marine Capt. Jeff Kuss as the motorcade makes its way down Main Avenue on Saturday morning. Photo by Jerry McBride/Durango Herald

People begin to line up along the motorcade route that will take the remains of Marine Capt. Jeff Kuss to Greenmount Cemetery for a private service. Photo by Jerry McBride/Durango Herald

Blue and yellow ribbons and bows were tied along Main Avenue in honor of Blue Angels pilot Capt. Jeff Kuss. Blue and yellow are the colors for the Blue Angels as well as for Fort Lewis College, where Kuss graduated in 2006. Photo by Ann Butler/Durango Herald

Liv Candelaria, 4, waves a flag as Blue Angels pilot Capt. Jeff Kuss’ motorcade passes through Durango on Saturday. Photo by Claudia Laws/Durango Herald

Law enforcement agencies escort the motorcade in honor of Marine Capt. Jeff Kuss as it makes its way down Main Avenue on Saturday morning. Photo by Jerry McBride/Durango Herald

Durango honors Marine Capt. Jeff Kuss as the motorcade makes its way down Main Avenue on Saturday morning. Photo by Jerry McBride/Durango Herald

People line the motorcade route along Main Avenue on Saturday in Durango to honor Capt. Jeff Kuss. Photo by Claudia Laws/Durango Herald

Veterans line up in front of the Veterans of Foreign Wars building on North Main Avenue to honor Marine Capt. Jeff Kuss on Saturday. Photo by Claudia Laws/Durango Herald

Durango honors Marine Capt. Jeff Kuss as the motorcade makes its way down Main Avenue on Saturday morning. Photo by Jerry McBride/Durango Herald

Kathy Mousner, who knows the Kuss and Perino families, came out Saturday for the motorcade to honor of Capt. Jeff Kuss. Photo by Ann Butler/Durango Herald

Durango honors Marine Capt. Jeff Kuss as the motorcade makes its way down Main Avenue on Saturday morning. Photo by Jerry McBride/Durango Herald

Residents wave flags as the motorcade escorting the remains of Marine Capt. Jeff Kuss passes through downtown Durango on Saturday. Photo by Claudia Laws/Durango Herald

Marcos Holley, 5, of Durango waits along the motorcade route to honor Capt. Jeff Kuss on Saturday. Photo by Claudia Laws/Durango Herald

Durango honors Marine Capt. Jeff Kuss as the motorcade makes its way down Main Avenue on Saturday morning. Photo by Jerry McBride/Durango Herald

Fort Lewis College Police prepare for the motorcade and memorial events on Saturday for Capt. Jeff Kuss. Courtesy FLC Police

A Marine Honor Guard rehearses for the graveside memorial for Capt. Jeff Kuss at Greenmount Cemetery in Durango. Photo by Jerry McBride/Durango Herald

Upper Pine Fire Protection District along with Durango honors Marine Capt. Jeff Kuss as the motorcade makes its way down Main Avenue on Saturday morning. Photo by Jerry McBride/Durango Herald

The top fighter jet begins to pull away in the Missing Man formation during the graveside services of Marine Capt. Jeff Kuss at Greenmount Cemetery on Saturday afternoon. Photo by Jerry McBride/Durango Herald

Zoey Schwentner, Evan Ray and Peyton, Carter and Jenna Stephenson welcome Capt. Jeff Kuss home during a motorcade Saturday in Durango. Photo by Claudia Laws/Durango Herald

Chris Gregory commemorates Capt. Jeff Kuss with flags, one of which will be sent to Navy Capt. Melinda Michael, who is serving in Guantanamo. Photo by Claudia Laws/Durango Herald

Janet Kuss waves to the Durango crowds that turned out to honor her son, Marine Capt. Jeff Kuss, as the motorcade makes its way down Main Avenue on Saturday morning. Kuss, a Blue Angels pilot, died June 2 in a plane crash. Photo by Jerry McBride/Durango

Tourists visiting Durango from Denmark joined area residents to honor Marine Capt. Jeff Kuss on Saturday. Photo by Luke Perkins/Durango Herald

Carolyn and Casey Cook and Dana and Michelle Lashbrooke line Main Avenue on Saturday to welcome Capt. Jeff Kuss home. Photo by Claudia Laws/Durango Herald

Dave Abercrombie said the motorcade for Marine Capt. Jeff Kuss reminds us “that life is precious and can be taken away at any moment.” Photo by Luke Perkins/Durango Herald

Ryan Ray, 1, lines the motorcade route to welcome home Blue Angels Capt. Jeff Kuss. Photo by Claudia Laws/Durango Herald

A flag was erected in honor of Marine Capt. Jeff Kuss on Saturday in Durango. Photo courtesy of Durango Fire Rescue

Christina Kuss waves to the Durango crowds who turned out to honor her husband, Marine Capt. Jeff Kuss, as the motorcade makes its way down Main Avenue on Saturday morning. Kuss, a Blue Angels pilot, died June 2 in a plane crash. Photo by Jerry McBride/Durango Herald

Durango honors Marine Capt. Jeff Kuss as the motorcade makes its way down Main Avenue on Saturday morning. Photo by Jerry McBride/Durango Herald

It was a day of teary laughter in Durango, as residents and visitors alike mourned and honored native son Marine Capt. Jeff Kuss.

Blue and yellow ribbons hung from posts, trees and awnings along Main Avenue on Saturday as the town gathered to honor the Blue Angels pilot who died when his plane crashed June 2 during a practice for an air show in Tennessee.

People of all ages held flags of all sizes, and flags on public buildings were lowered to half-staff in honor of Kuss.

The motorcade, which included more than 40 vehicles and was escorted by law enforcement from five agencies, began about 11 a.m. and took Kuss’ remains to Greenmount Cemetery for a private service. It was capped by a rifle volley and a flyover by Navy and Marine fleet aviators that Kuss served with before he joined the Blue Angels flight demonstration team in September 2014.

“This is part of the history of our community, and I wanted to be part of it,” Roberta Eichman said. “And I think there’s room for more recognition of honor and valor in our country.”

Community also mattered to Tom Gray, who has known both the Kuss and Stransky families for years. Kuss’ mother, Janet, is a Stransky.

“They’re supporting one of their own,” he said, “and they’re asking the community to acknowledge it, which I think is important. I don’t think you see that quite as much, and it kinda hits home.”

A Durango native, Kuss, 32, graduated from Durango High School in 2002 and Fort Lewis College in 2006. Christina Ferrarese Kuss, his wife and also a Durango native and FLC graduate, waved to onlookers as the motorcade drove through town.

“I just completely feel for them,” said Kathy Mousner, who knows the Kuss family. “No one deserves it, of course, but these families are just wonderful.”

Mousner’s son and daughter-in-law are both serving in the Air Force, so Kuss’ death felt close to home for her, she said.

Several thousand residents lined the motorcade route, from 32nd Street down Main Avenue to College Drive and then along Camino del Rio to the Ninth Street bridge, to laud Kuss and his family.

“He was a pilot before he could drive,” said Eric Hassel, who attended DHS with Kuss. “We all wanted to be pilots, but he actually did it. We have a friend in Salt Lake City who said Jeff lived the life that everybody dreamed about.”

It wasn’t only locals who turned out. Lawrence Mount from Amarillo, Texas, paid homage to the Blue Angels because his father is a Navy pilot. Debbie Goltz from Brea, California, had dressed in red, white and blue and made a sign for Kuss.

“I’m here visiting my brother,” she said, “and I told him, ‘Let’s do some honors.’”

Many headed to The Rim at Fort Lewis College to watch the flyby, which included the Missing Man formation, in which one jet pulled away from the others to show that the brotherhood of pilots has lost one of its own.

Durango’s public safety officials either escorted the motorcade or joined the community along the route to remember Kuss.

“I think the thing that stands out in my mind is what a shame it is that we don’t take the occasion to honor the heroes of this town before we have a tragedy,” said Hal Doughty, chief of the Durango Fire Protection District. “But on the other side of that, I’m pretty proud of our community and the people that came out to show respect.”

Mahlon Wigton, one of Kuss’ best friends from childhood, drove in the procession.

“We started, and I was thinking it was just going to be a motorcade,” Wigton said. “I had no idea it was going to turn into a parade and what felt like the whole town was there. It’s a real Durango son that’s gone, and you can see it in the community. I’ve never seen anything like that.”

In the afternoon, it was a constant parade of well-wishers and longtime friends at a reception at Fort Lewis College, as several hundred people came to offer the family their condolences in person. Most of the members of the military in town stopped by the reception before heading to Steamworks Brewing Co., which was closed for the afternoon and evening for their private gathering.

None of the military officers contacted wanted to be quoted, but one said, “I’m here because Jeff would be here.”

Kuss’ parents greeted their friends, his friends, their daughter-in-law’s friends and members of the community who wanted to honor their son and recognize the family’s loss.

“All these hugs are filling up some of the empty places in my heart,” Kuss’ father, Michael, said, joking, “I’m going to wear out my new shirt.”

The family had asked that friends donate to the Jeff Kuss Memorial Scholarship created at FLC or the GoFundMe site raising money for Kuss’ wife and two children, Calvin, 4, and Sloane, 1, if they want to give something. But many still felt the need to bring flowers, which generally had a theme of red, white and blue, or yellow and blue – the colors of both the Blue Angels and FLC.

And then it was time for the memories, which were flowing as people gathered.

Wigton recalled when their two families climbed all of Colorado’s Fourteeners as they were growing up. As they headed up Little Bear in the Sangre de Cristo Mountains, the ground began to tremble.

“All of a sudden, you feel like there’s an earthquake happening,” he said. “You’ve got one hand and one foot in front of the other, and you’re like, ‘Is the mountain falling apart here?’”

The trembling was caused by two jets buzzing the mountains in the valley 2,000 to 3,000 feet below the two boys, who were in their early teenage years at the time.

“I knew he was already in love with flying,” Wigton said. “It’s been this thing he had talked about, and you could just see when those jets were going by. I mean, his eyes, his everything, his whole energy was just focused on that, and he was like, ‘That’s what I’m going to do.’”

Another childhood friend, Tyler Glynn, remembered being the new kid in town.

“I met Jeff when I moved from New York in 1995,” Glynn said. “We were in sixth grade. I didn’t have a desk assigned yet, so I had to sit next to Jeff. He was stand-up. He was charismatic, goofy and genuine.”

Nancy and Bob Conrad remembered Kuss as a soccer player who grew up with their son, Kyle Fredrick. Just as Janet Kuss said earlier in the week, Nancy Conrad said she’d remember him for his personality.

“He was always the sweetest, most caring kid, and he was really fun, too,” she said. “He was always taking care of his little brother, Eric. I remember him blowing up a ducky in the living room, and our dog, Mud, swimming after him in the (Animas) River. He was so concerned about the dog.”

For Bob Conrad, it was a moment in time when Fredrick and Kuss were 14 and staying with him in Denver for a soccer game.

“I can see it now,” he said. “I was holding the gate in my backyard open, and I asked Jeff what he wanted to be. He said, ‘I’m going to fly.’”

Dene Thomas, president of FLC, talked about the scholarship to the college in his name, which has received several donations. It will be used to help veterans working toward a degree.

“We are honored to join with the family in this commemoration of Jeff,” she said. “And we’re all grieving because we are all family.”

Herald staff writers Jessica Pace and Luke Perkins contributed to this story. This article has been updated to correct information about the rifle volley. It was incorrectly called a 21-gun salute in an earlier version.

Donations

There are several ways to support the family of Marine Capt. Jeff Kuss. They would prefer these options to flowers:

A GoFundMe site was set up to benefit the family of Kuss, a Durango native. The fundraiser was set up by Kuss’ sister-in-law, Nicole Perino. To donate, visit

www.gofundme.com/jeffkuss.

The International Council of Air Shows established a fund for the family, according to its website. Donors may contribute to the Capt. Jeff Kuss Foundation at

www.icasfoundation.org

A separate fund was created to help defray expenses related to Kuss’ memorial service in Durango and the public reception Saturday afternoon. Donations to the Jeff Kuss Memorial Fund may be made at Bank of the San Juans/Division of Glacier Bank, 144 E. Eighth St., Durango, CO 81301.

The Jeff Kuss Memorial Scholarship was founded by the family through the

Fort Lewis College Foundation

to help veterans earn a college degree. Donations may be made at

https://apps.fortlewis.edu/makeagift

The

Marine Corps Scholarship Foundation

set up the Captain Jeff “Kooch” Kuss USMC Memorial Scholarship and will accept donations to help the children of fallen Marine or Navy corpsmen pay for post-high school education. Donations may be made to the foundation’s

Heroes Tribute Scholarship Program

, which has committed up to $30,000 for Kuss’ children, Calvin, 4, and Sloane, 1, when they reach college age.