Kurt Jenne

Kurt John Jenne
March 22, 1944 - March 24, 2012
Chapel Hill
Kurt John Jenne, of Chapel Hill, died on Saturday, March 24, 2012, at the age of 68. Born in Weehawken, New Jersey, on March 22, 1944, to Herbert and Clair Jenne, Kurt spent his early years in Woodstown, NJ and Occoquan, VA, then in Frankfurt, Germany where his father was on assignment for the Central Intelligence Agency. After returning stateside, he graduated from Walter Johnson H.S. in Rockville, MD and went on to Cornell University in 1967 where he studied history and architecture. Kurt served two years of active duty in the US Army, then moved into the Army Reserves and ultimately became Battalion Commander of Second Brigade of the 318th Infantry at Dublin, VA. He retired from service in 1992 at the rank of Colonel.
Kurt received a Masters in City and Regional Planning from UNC in 1971. After working as a city planner in Richmond, VA, he returned to Chapel Hill in 1973 as the first ever Director of Urban Development for the Town of Chapel Hill. He supervised Planning, Inspections, and the newly formed Transportation Department until he was appointed Town Manager in 1975, at the age of 31.
In 1978 he resigned his position as town manager to become a Mid-Career Fellow in the Woodrow Wilson School of Public and International Affairs at Princeton University. Returning to Chapel Hill in 1979, Kurt earned a PhD in City and Regional Planning and joined the faculty of the School of Government at UNC where he served until his retirement in 2002. During his tenure there, Kurt facilitated strategic planning retreats and hiring processes for city and county managers across the state. Kurt was known and respected for his sensitive and open-minded approach to working with people and communities, his superior facilitative and managerial skills, as well as his candor and good humor.
Kurt is survived by his son, George Jenne of Chapel Hill; his daughter Clair Jenne of Baltimore, MD; his sister Karen Jones and mother Clair Jenne of Frederick, MD; his special friend Margaret Henderson of Hillsborough, NC; and former spouse, Mary Jenne of Chapel Hill.
A memorial service will be scheduled for Memorial Day Weekend in Chapel Hill. An announcement will be printed at a later date.
The family expresses special appreciation to the staff and volunteers of Charles House, for their guidance and support in managing the last years of Kurt's progressive memory disorder. In lieu of flowers, please send donations to Charles House, 109 Hillcrest Avenue, Carrboro, NC 27510, or to The School of Government at UNC-Chapel Hill.