Kurt Stromberg, beloved husband, father and loyal friend, who contributed to the world through decades of medical science research and a lifetime of enthusiasm and empathy, died from complications of the flu in San Francisco on January 12, 2026.
Kurt was born in 1939 in Albuquerque, NM to Jackson C. Stromberg and Jeannette Rice Stromberg, of whom he was very proud. His father founded Stromberg’s Menswear in Albuquerque, a community institution. His mother, a dedicated book lover, was the first woman on the Albuquerque School Board, where she made sure libraries got the attention they deserved.The NM Central Community College, the largest in New Mexico, named their library in her honor.
Kurt cherished his memories of childhood in Albuquerque, graduating in 1957 from Albuquerque High School where his fondest remembrances were of his football team and many friends. In1961, he graduated cum laude from Amherst College and then from the University of Colorado School of Medicine. After an internship in Pathology at Yale New Haven Hospital, a fellowship at Massachusetts General, and a residency at Columbia-Presbyterian Hospital in NY, he was Board Certified in Anatomic Pathology in 1974.
Over the course of his career in the U.S. Public Health Service in Washington, DC, Kurt did pioneering research on AIDS and significant research on viral carcinogenesis and growth factors at the National Cancer Institute, NIH. Later, at the Center for Biologics at the U.S. Food and Drug Administration, where he also had regulatory responsibilities, he did research on growth factors in breast and ovarian cancer. He had numerous publications and was an adjunct professor in pathology at various universities.
Kurt was widowed and raising his son Kristoffer when he married Jean Wilbur Gleason in 1993 in Washington, DC. They shared a Western background tempered by East Coast education and a love of the outdoors. They were at home with each other. They raised their sons in Washington, but the sons moved West. After retirement, so did Kurt and Jean, first to a houseboat in Sausalito and then to Larkspur in Marin County, across the Golden Gate from San Francisco.
Kurt was optimistic, playful, adventurous, athletic, kind, loyal and a soft-spoken listener with a strong independent streak. He read deeply in evolution, science, and sailing adventures. He kept up with old friends. He was rightly proud of his tennis (New Mexico State Doubles Champion!), golf and skiing, all honed in his childhood. For many years, he sailed a classic Alden wooden sailboat ( the most beautiful boat ever) in the Chesapeake Bay. After he moved West, he sailed with friends in San Francisco Bay. Those were golden moments for him.
The last few years with Parkinson’s Disease were difficult for him to accept. He did, with good grace. And although he couldn’t be as active as he wanted, he was able to visit Kristoffer on his thriving farm in Sequim, Washington, and he was a dedicated, loving “Poppy” to his four granddaughters who brought great joy to his life.
Kurt was predeceased by his parents and two siblings, Gretchen Stromberg Yohn and Jackson Claflin Stromberg. He is survived by his younger sister Ilsa (Rey) Garduno, his wife, Jean, his son Kristoffer Kirk Stromberg, and stepsons Blake (Lynsay Skiba) Gleason and Peter (Ashley Langworthy) Gleason, and granddaughters Sequoia, Aviva, Ilima and Jasmine Gleason, as well as nephews and nieces who fondly remember him as one of them.
As a pathologist, Kurt chose to donate his body to UCSF Medical School for research and education. There is no planned service at this time, but the family hopes to have a celebration of life at a later date.
Kurt was born in 1939 in Albuquerque, NM to Jackson C. Stromberg and Jeannette Rice Stromberg, of whom he was very proud. His father founded Stromberg’s Menswear in Albuquerque, a community institution. His mother, a dedicated book lover, was the first woman on the Albuquerque School Board, where she made sure libraries got the attention they deserved.The NM Central Community College, the largest in New Mexico, named their library in her honor.
Kurt cherished his memories of childhood in Albuquerque, graduating in 1957 from Albuquerque High School where his fondest remembrances were of his football team and many friends. In1961, he graduated cum laude from Amherst College and then from the University of Colorado School of Medicine. After an internship in Pathology at Yale New Haven Hospital, a fellowship at Massachusetts General, and a residency at Columbia-Presbyterian Hospital in NY, he was Board Certified in Anatomic Pathology in 1974.
Over the course of his career in the U.S. Public Health Service in Washington, DC, Kurt did pioneering research on AIDS and significant research on viral carcinogenesis and growth factors at the National Cancer Institute, NIH. Later, at the Center for Biologics at the U.S. Food and Drug Administration, where he also had regulatory responsibilities, he did research on growth factors in breast and ovarian cancer. He had numerous publications and was an adjunct professor in pathology at various universities.
Kurt was widowed and raising his son Kristoffer when he married Jean Wilbur Gleason in 1993 in Washington, DC. They shared a Western background tempered by East Coast education and a love of the outdoors. They were at home with each other. They raised their sons in Washington, but the sons moved West. After retirement, so did Kurt and Jean, first to a houseboat in Sausalito and then to Larkspur in Marin County, across the Golden Gate from San Francisco.
Kurt was optimistic, playful, adventurous, athletic, kind, loyal and a soft-spoken listener with a strong independent streak. He read deeply in evolution, science, and sailing adventures. He kept up with old friends. He was rightly proud of his tennis (New Mexico State Doubles Champion!), golf and skiing, all honed in his childhood. For many years, he sailed a classic Alden wooden sailboat ( the most beautiful boat ever) in the Chesapeake Bay. After he moved West, he sailed with friends in San Francisco Bay. Those were golden moments for him.
The last few years with Parkinson’s Disease were difficult for him to accept. He did, with good grace. And although he couldn’t be as active as he wanted, he was able to visit Kristoffer on his thriving farm in Sequim, Washington, and he was a dedicated, loving “Poppy” to his four granddaughters who brought great joy to his life.
Kurt was predeceased by his parents and two siblings, Gretchen Stromberg Yohn and Jackson Claflin Stromberg. He is survived by his younger sister Ilsa (Rey) Garduno, his wife, Jean, his son Kristoffer Kirk Stromberg, and stepsons Blake (Lynsay Skiba) Gleason and Peter (Ashley Langworthy) Gleason, and granddaughters Sequoia, Aviva, Ilima and Jasmine Gleason, as well as nephews and nieces who fondly remember him as one of them.
As a pathologist, Kurt chose to donate his body to UCSF Medical School for research and education. There is no planned service at this time, but the family hopes to have a celebration of life at a later date.
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