Carl LaVern Kuder

Carl L. Kuder rode off into the sunset on December 19th, 2014. Battling his fierce enemies, dementia and its side-kick pneumonia he triumphed in the last moments, taking them down with him in a blaze of glory, befitting the hero he was. The snarky back-talking cowboy grew up in the town of Vicksburg, born on April 28th, 1930 and served this great land in both the National Guard and U.S. Navy. His spirit of adventure served him well as a baker aboard ship and later his creative genius earned him the title of Mechanical Technologist for the UpJohn Company. Yearning to always keep his head in the clouds, Carl flew small aircraft for recreation and took his family on expeditions into the wild north in search of big game. Carl loved his annual fishing voyages with his wife on the Great Lakes, and once had the honor of catching "the big one" as a guest aboard his grandson's Naval vessel in the Pacific. Carl took his wife all across this great land in their RV after he retired. Then slowed down to the life of a cowboy, horsing around with his wife as they rode on numerous adventures through the wilderness of Michigan. Once a week, Carl would take his clubs and go golfing with a crew of fellow Upjohn retirees. Carl never wanted to grow up and he never had to. Loretta, his wife, carries on the odyssey in his absence as does his 2 surviving children, 9 grandchildren, and 22 great grandchildren and counting. Carl joined his late son, Gary Michael, in that great adventure beyond. He will be interned with honors at Ft. Custer on December 29th with a Memorial Service after at 1:30pm at Portage Free Methodist Church 1715 W. Centre Ave., Portage MI 49024. Carl would like contributions made to the West Michigan Cancer Center, an ally who helped him defeat a previous foe. Please share a memory of the old cowboy at www.avinkcremation.com.