David Jesse Kuch Obituary

David Jesse Kuch attended Rincon High School in Tucson, AZ. View the obituary, post a memory, or share a photo about David Jesse Kuch.

Graduation Year	Class of 1962
Date of Passing	Dec 24, 1999
About	David ("Dave"), always went hunting on Christmas Eve with one (or both) of his two sons to get a goose or duck for Christmas dinner. That year found eldest son, David, living away from their home (Lake Havasu City, AZ) and youngest son, Dan, on duty with the city's police dept. Jean asked husband Dave to wait until Dan could go with him, or to opt for a store-bought bird that year; but Dave insisted on getting the holiday dinner. He had taken his boat out countless times and set his decoys in the Colorado River among the reeds to lure in the birds, but this year the water was much higher than usual and the silt very deep. Dave realized this much too late as he tried to untangle one of the decoys from the reeds. As Dave stepped into the water near shore, his waders filled with water at the same time he sank down into almost quicksand-like silt on the bottom. The autopsy showed he did not drown; he suffocated instead because the water was barely above freezing temperature and he evidently gasped and then was unable to exhale (perhaps from the shock and panic he experienced.) Dave had taught biology at the high school in Lake Havasu City since the city began and the school opened. His fellow teachers and students were stunned by his passing and he is remembered at the school by a street and grove of trees named in his honor. Dave also worked part-time for the sheriff's dept. and it was they who found his abandoned boat with his gun in it on the island. The boat drifted downstream and the authorities knew something bad had happened as Dave would never have left his things unattended. This was an unthinkable accident for a man who was so extremely careful and calculating about safety. Dave's brother, Bruce (class of '66) helped with funeral arrangements and spoke at the funeral to a standing-room-only church of family, friends, fellow teachers, students, and townsfolk. The church could not even accommodate all who came and many stood outside and waited to pay their respects. Dave is survived by his loving wife, Jean, and his two sons, David and Dan' David's family (wife Sonia, son Garrett, and daughter, Olivia) and Dan's family (wife Nicole, and sons Evan and Emerson.) Dave's parents preceded him in death, but his brother, Bruce and Bruce's wife (Pam) and son (Roger) miss him terribly. Dave was a wonderful person with an incredible gift for teaching and a love for his family. He was an avid athlete (running being his main sport) and hunter.