M. Karl Shurtliff

1939 - 2025

M. Karl Shurtliff

November 6, 1939 - April 18, 2025

Boise, Idaho - Marvin Karl Shurtliff, born November 6, 1939 in Idaho Falls, Idaho to Noah Leon Shurtliff and Melba Dorothy (Hunting) Shurtliff, passed away on April 18, 2025 at a Boise care facility. Karl was raised and educated with his two brothers Gerald Lynn and Ricky Allen in Menan, Idaho, graduating from Rigby High School in 1958.

Karl attended Idaho State University, serving as the Sophomore Class President, followed by terms as Student Body Vice President and then President his senior year. While in college he was a member of Phi Sigma Kappa Fraternity, and an active member of the ISU Young Democrats, Debate club and ROTC. He graduated with a B.A. in Government in 1962.

Later that same year, Karl was commissioned into the US Army as a 2nd Lieutenant. He was in training to be sent to Korea in the Army Intelligence Unit when three months later, on his 23rd birthday, he was elected to the Idaho State House of Representatives for Jefferson County. At the time, he was the youngest person ever elected to the Idaho House. He received an honorable discharge from the Army then, ending his short term of military service. Thus began Karl's long career in government and law.

In the summer of 1963, Karl moved to Washington D.C. while on his legislature break. He worked the overnight shift at the US Postal Service and met and hung out with many students at local law schools and staff that worked on Capitol Hill. It was in Washington, at a Capitol Hill social, he met Peggy Griffin from Tallahassee, Florida who was working for her congressman as a secretary. They married in DC on November 23, 1963. The two then moved back to Idaho so that Karl could attend law school at the University of Idaho, after one brief year of Karl teaching Speech and Writing at West Jefferson High School.

While in law school, Karl was a member of the law review, and President of the Student Bar Association. He received his Juris Doctorate (Cum Laude) and served as the Law School's Convocation Speaker. In 1968, he and Peggy moved back to Washington D.C. where he spent the next six years as a senior trial attorney for the US Department of Justice in the Civil Rights Division. While he worked on many important cases during his tenure, he spent a significant portion of his work monitoring polling places and voting practices to ensure compliance to the 1965 Voting Rights Act. In 1972, Karl and Peggy had their daughter Jennifer Karyl.

In 1974, Karl was back in Idaho, this time in Boise, where he was appointed to the Idaho Public Utilities Commission, serving as the President from September 1975 to January 1977. From January to June of 1977, he served as Special Assistant and Legal Counsel to Idaho Governor John V. Evans. In June of 1977, Karl was appointed to be the United States Attorney for the District of Idaho by President Jimmy Carter, where he represented the United States in civil and criminal matters.

In 1981, Karl began a long career as a private practice attorney dealing in civil, administrative, and criminal law. Over the years, he argued numerous cases in the Idaho State Supreme Court, Court of Appeals, and Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals. In 2003, he had the honor and privilege of arguing a case before the United States Supreme Court. During this time of private practice, he remained active in service, including volunteering for his daughter's Elementary School PTO, when as PTO President he helped successfully argue for the closure of one block of Ada Street so kids didn't have to cross a road with traffic to get to the playground. He was appointed as a member of the Idaho State Board of Education by Governor Cecil Andrus, including serving a term as President from 1992-1994.

In 2016, following the death of his wife Peggy, Karl moved briefly to St. George Island, Florida. After riding out two hurricanes, he decided it was time to move to higher ground, and relocated to Mount Dora, Florida, a small bedroom community north of Orlando. For the next few years, he soaked in the warm weather and sunshine. Finally in 2018, in a way that those who knew Karl can appreciate, he wrote "I Quit" on his Idaho Bar renewal form and fully retired from the practice of law.

In 2021 Karl began suffering through some health issues and exhibiting early signs of dementia. He moved back to Boise to be closer to his daughter and son-in-law. In 2023, his dementia progressed and he was moved into a local Memory Care Facility. He was provided quality care with compassion, concern, and dignity. His caregivers were and remain appreciated.

Karl was preceded in death by his infant son; his parents; and his wife. He is survived by his daughter, Jennifer and son-in-law, Mark E. Kirkland of Boise; his brothers, Lynn of Lexington, Kentucky and Rick of Vancouver, Washington and their children.

The family will greet friends and family from 4:00 p.m. until 7:00 p.m., Sunday, April 27th, at Lock Stock & Barrel Restaurant at 1100 West Jefferson Street, Boise, Idaho.

In lieu of flowers, please consider a donation to The Andrus Center for Public Policy, The Treasure Valley Family YMCA, or a charity of your choice.