Kurt GILMORE

GILMORE, Kurt William
March 4, 1949 – Lincoln, Nebraska
December 18, 2014 – Calgary, Alberta
Kurt Gilmore, beloved husband of Maxine, passed away on December 18, 2014 as a result of cancer, at the age of 65 years.
Kurt was born March 4, 1949 in Lincoln, Nebraska to parents Keith and Betty Jo Gilmore. Not long after his birth, his family moved to Callaway, Nebraska to one of the original farms owned by his paternal grandfather and the original home of his father. In his early years, he walked (on good days) with his older brother, Kent to attend the Redfern County School. The family moved to Calgary in June of 1956 so that his father could assume management of The Canadian Hereford Digest.
While in junior high school, Kurt developed an interest in competitive swimming and by the time he finished high school was a nationally rated competitor. Kurt was offered an athletic scholarship at Washington State University and entered there in the fall of 1967 majoring in animal science. After one year, he decided to work for the university farm and moved to and managed their beef production test facility for three years.
Between college terms he worked two summers on the Budd Hereford Ranch in Wyoming and his future in the registered Hereford business was assured. Following graduation in 1971, he joined the field staff of The Canadian Hereford Digest, and visited breeders throughout Alberta and British Columbia. In 1980, he purchased the publication from his father.
Following the death of his father in 1987, Kurt took a keen interest in the promotion and success of the Keith Gilmore Foundation which provides agricultural scholarships to worthy young farm students from throughout Canada. He served as its chief fundraiser for many years and was elected as a trustee in 2009.
In 1998, he met Maxine Williams, the love of his life, which led to their marriage on June 28, 2002. They lived for five years at their acreage north of Cochrane and then moved to Calgary in the fall of 2003.
They spent many wonderful and happy years together, often travelling on vacation as well as business. Kurt and Maxine loved all of their grandchildren and attended their sporting events and competitions, Christmas concerts and many family and holiday get-togethers. Those were special times when any of the grandchildren came for a "sleepover" with "Gramma" and "Poppa".
Kurt enjoyed good food and loved to cook. Maxine and Kurt loved hosting dinner parties for family and friends at their home on a regular basis.
One of the highlights of springtime was always his annual fishing trip with close friends in search of Walleye at lakes in northern Saskatchewan. As official camp cook, his co- fishermen never lacked for prime rib, crab or steak with all the fixings.
Kurt was honoured for his long time service to the Calgary Bull sale by the Alberta Cattle Breeders in 2009 and was inducted to the Alberta Hereford Association Hall of Fame in 2010. In 2013, he was admitted as a member to the Canadian Hereford Association Honour Roll.
Following the sale of The Canadian Hereford Digest to The Canadian Hereford Association in 2009, Kurt took on a new career in real estate sales with CIR Realty and worked closely with his friend of over forty years, Perry Wilkes.
Kurt is survived by his loving wife, Maxine; three children Julie (Chad) Smith, Jeanie (Mike) Colling, and Kevin (Catherine) Gilmore; stepson Kevin (Carrie) Williams; brothers Kent and Karl (Alyda); sister Karen (Norris) Graham; seven grandchildren Evan, Easten, Kaden, Avree, Sydney, Kylie and Chase; nephews and nieces Tom (Melissa) Graham, Marianne (Jeff) Shigematsu, Steven (Chelsey) Gilmore, Nicole Gilmore, and Christy (Clark) Camp. Kurt was predeceased by his parents Keith and Betty Jo Gilmore and by his first wife Virginia Gilmore.
Funeral Services will be held at Bow Valley Baptist Church (54 West Aarsby Road, Cochrane, AB) on Monday, December 22, 2014 at 1:00 p.m. Condolences may be forwarded through www.mcinnisandholloway.com.
It was Kurt's special request that in lieu of flowers, donations be made to the Keith Gilmore Foundation Scholarship Fund, 5160 Skyline Way NE, Calgary, AB, T2E 6V1, www.keithgilmorefoundation.com.
In living memory of Kurt Gilmore, a tree will be planted at Fish Creek Provincial Park.