Kurt Swanson Bucholz

BUCHOLZ-Kurt Swanson, age 56, of Saratoga, WY. He died at home on Dec. 5, 2006, after an almost 2-1/2 year struggle with thymic carcinoma, a rare type of thoracic cancer. He was born Nov. 5, 1950, in Omaha, NE, to Frederick Towle Bucholz and Gretchen Swanson Bucholz. He lived in Omaha until age 10, when he moved to San Juan, Puerto Rico, with his mother, new husband Webster E. Pullen, and brother, Rick. He left San Juan in 1965 to finish high school at The Choate School in Wallingford, Conn., where he graduated in 1969. He then went on to Colorado College, where he received a bachelor's degree in biology in 1974. After a year off, he returned to college to complete a pre-medicine program. He enrolled in the Colorado State University College of Veterinary Medicine and Biomedical Sciences and graduated in 1979. He and his family had initially gone to the Platte Valley in Wyoming in 1957, when his mother purchased the XH Land and Cattle Company. From then on, he spent every summer of his life except for one, on the ranch. In 1982, he returned to the ranch on a fulltime basis. In August 1983, he met Laura Johns Liedtke from Houston and after a short courtship, they were married on March 3, 1984. Their family grew with the birth of two children and they became the center of their parents' lives. His intense interest in the livestock and beef industry was exemplified by his participation in industry organizations. He also was interested in the community and served as a director or trustee in many different arenas. In 2002, he was elected to a seat in the Wyoming State House of Representatives, a job to which he directed great enthusiasm and commitment. As in all other areas of his life, he found that in the Legislature, the rewards one reaps are elevated by the commitments one invests. His passion for his family, friends and the XH Ranch followed that philosophy. Survivors include his wife and children Bessie and John, his brother, Rick Bucholz and his wife of Omaha; two nieces and a nephew; half-brother, David Bucholz and his wife and their children of Alpine, Wyoming; an aunt, and a large extended family of cousins and in-laws. He was preceded in death by his father in 1971 and his mother in 2003.
Services for Kurt were held Wednesday, Dec. 13, 2006, at Saratoga High School, Saratoga, WY with Pastor Sherry Stottler officiating. A private burial will be held at the Bucholz Family Cemetery on the XH Ranch. Gifts may be made in his name, in lieu of flowers, to the Platte Valley Community Center, P. O. Box 128, Saratoga, WY 82331 or to a charity of the giver's choice.