LeeAnn Kurtz

LeeAnn (Enabnit) Kurtz, 85, most recently of Garner, formerly of rural Ventura/Klemme, and a Clear Lake native, passed away on her 85th birthday, Sunday, Feb. 12, 2023, at Iowa Specialty Hospital-Belmond.  

Funeral services were held Saturday, Feb. 18, 2023, at the Clear Lake Christian Church, Clear Lake.  Visitation was Friday at the church and Saturday morning prior to the funeral.  Burial took place following the service and luncheon at the Ell Township Cemetery-Klemme. Those wishing to express their sympathies through a memorial in LeeAnn’s memory may wish to consider the Clear Lake Christian Church, LeeAnn’s family c/o Kay Kern, 1680 Union Ave., Belmond, IA 50421, or your favorite charity.  The funeral was live steamed and is available on the Andrews Funeral Homes Facebook page (just LIKE the page to view and the church YouTube page.)

LeeAnn Enabnit, the daughter of Jacob Arthur and Helen (Anderson) Enabnit, was born Feb. 12, 1938, at her grandmother’s home on Main Street in Clear Lake.  In her early years she attended the old Clear Lake Christian Church in downtown Clear Lake where she was baptized, and the seeds of her lifelong faith journey were planted.

LeeAnn attended Clear Lake Community Schools and graduated in the Class of 1956.  One evening when LeeAnn and a friend were out cruising and their car broke down in downtown Clear Lake, some young men stopped to help, one of which caught LeeAnn’s eye.  That meeting sprouted a relationship and LeeAnn and William Kurtz were united in marriage on June 21, 1957 (Bill’s birthday), at the Christian Church.

Following their marriage, LeeAnn and Bill lived on the Enabnit farm south of Clear Lake, and two daughters, Kim and Kay, were born.  Bill eventually went into farming and the family moved to a farm just southwest of Clear Lake.  As the years progressed, the family grew with the addition of daughters, Karo and Konnie.  Bill and LeeAnn expanded their farming diversity by raising cattle and chickens in addition to the crops.

Along with being a full-time mother and wife, she supported Bill by assisting with the many different farming duties.  Eventually, the family moved further south to the family farm, which has been in the family more than 100 years.  LeeAnn and Bill’s grandson, Kody, now continues the family legacy of farming the land and residing on the Century farm.

In 1974, LeeAnn commenced a 29-year career at Winnebago Industries in Forest City, where she retired after rarely missing days of work in almost 30 decades of employment.

LeeAnn and Bill truly were a team in all aspects of their 60 plus years together.  They relished the role of raising their daughters together and providing them with a nurturing and loving home, teaching the value of hard work, instilling the significance of a strong faith life and the importance of spending time with family.

She and Bill were tremendous supporters and cheerleaders for their grandchildren’s athletics, concerts and various other activities.  They rarely missed an opportunity to be present no matter what the occasion or event.  She loved family get-togethers and the special memories that came with them.  Through the years, they would take family trips with kids and grandkids to visit relatives all around the country.  

LeeAnn was an excellent seamstress and was active in the church ladies sewing group.  She enjoyed the solitude of a good book and the companionship of many rescue dogs that Bill and her would adopt over the years.  She was a wonderful cook and baker and would bake homemade pies and other delicious delights to share with family and friends.

LeeAnn shared her self-taught musical talents as the church organist at the Christian Church for 42 years.  She was gifted with the musical ability to hear a song one time and then be able to play it on the piano without any sheet music.  A unique talent called “playing by ear.”  She also shared her time and talents by assisting with many church activities through the women’s fellowship.

LeeAnn will be remembered for her unending devotion to her family and how she loved to share stories and life lessons with her kids and grandkids.  She will be missed dearly, but we will also celebrate that she had the greatest birthday gift of all, reuniting with the love of her life and others who journeyed on before her, on her 85th birthday.

She leaves behind in her life footsteps her daughters and their families including: Kim (Mark) Hinrichsen, Osage, Iowa, Kay (Jo) Kern, Belmond, Iowa, Karo (Scott) Brattrud, Clear Lake, and Konnie (Barry) Chronister, Omaha, Neb.; a sister-in-law, Karen Bender, Athens, Ala.; grandchildren and families:  Michael Hinrichsen and Jessie (Brandon) Parcel, all of Osage, Iowa, Kody (Vanessa) Trampel and their two children, Pierce and Finley, Klemme, Kasey (Morgan) Trampel and daughters, Layna and Marie and son, Talon, Sibley, Iowa, Natalee Dippel and her companion, Chase Schilling, Garner, Iowa, Jenna (Joseph) Wolfe and their children, Jadelyn, Jacob and Jason, Sumner, Iowa, Ryan (Heather) Brattrud and their children, Lillian and Eddie, Washington, Ill., and Will (Theresa) Larson and their son, Oliver, Eagan, Minn., and Nicole Kostelnick, Ashville, NC; along with many nieces and nephews and other extended family and friends.

She was preceded in death by her parents; her in-laws; husband, Bill in 2018; sisters, Edith Alsbury, Betty Enabnit, June Enabnit and Ila Braun; and brothers, Paul and Jack Enabnit.