Ewald Walter Kuefner

Ewald Walter Kuefner, age 91 passed away on November 7, 2024. He was born and raised in Berlin, Germany. He was born on July 20, 1933, to Fritz Paul Kuefner and Martha Stank.

He married Sharon Aloha Turner on September 11, 1959, in the Salt Lake Temple, Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.

He loved life and was interested in many different things. He enjoyed taking his family boating, fishing, and water skiing at wonderful places like Lake Powell and Strawberry Reservoir. He was an avid motorcycle rider and was very touched when the VFW surprised him with an honorary membership and a VFW Riders Club Vest on his 90th Birthday. 

At the age of 53 he earned his open-water scuba diving certification, diving in Florida, Georgia, and Hawaii. He was a self-taught piano player and learned several of his favorite church hymns. He enjoyed Stamp collecting and belonged to the Utah Philatelic Society where he served as Editor of the newsletter for about 7 years.

He is a survivor of World War II which ended in 1945 in Berlin when he was 12 years old and suffered through the aftermath. At the age of 19 he immigrated to the United States in 1953. He served in the Utah National Guard from 1953 – 1960. He is a Veteran of the Korean War (1955). Member of Veterans of Foreign Wars Post 12087 and served as Jr Vice, Sr. Vice, and Commander and then served as Quarter Master for 7 years. He was also a member of the American Legion for 21 years. 

He graduated from High School in Berlin at the age of 14, and when he came to Utah he went to BYU for one year. He took German language classes which helped him learn English and gave the other students the chance to hear “real” German. 

Business experience: Owner of United Color Company of Salt Lake City, Utah as a Painting and Decorating Contractor, 30 years. He belonged to the PDCA (Painting and Decorating Contractors of America) a national trade association where he served a term as President and later as Secretary for many years. He also served as a National Board Member of the PDCA for four consecutive years.

He went on the Utah Honor Flight, in September 2016, for veterans of the Korean War and WW2 to Washington DC and visited many national sites.

Civil Service 1984-1994: He served as an Administrative Assistant for the U. S. Small Business Administration, Salt Lake City, Utah. Then in 1986, he moved to Georgia where he served as an Administrative Officer for the U.S.D.A, Agriculture Research Service in conjunction with the University of Georgia then Transferred to California and served as Office Manager for the District Council (attorney office) Department of Treasury for six years, in San Jose, where he was promoted to a GS-11. In 1994 he retired and moved back to the Salt Lake area.

Ewald is survived by his wife, Aloha and children: Irene (Albert) Gomes, Dave (Aubrey) Kuefner, Brenda (Gale) Lybbert and Duane (Tammy) Kuefner, 14 grandchildren, 14 great-grandchildren. brother, Gerhard H. Kuefner, and two sisters-in-law, Annette Turner and Diane Turner.

He is preceded in death by his parents Martha and Fritz Kuefner, sister-in-law, Myrna Kuefner, Jean Turner, Shirley Judson, and brother-in-law Vernon Turner. 

He will be escorted from the church to the mortuary by the VFW Riders Club.

Funeral Services will be held Thursday, November 14, 2024, at 12:00 noon at The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints at 7645 South 3200 West, West Jordan, Utah. You may visit with the family at a viewing prior to services from 11:00 to 11:45 AM. You may also visit with the family on Wednesday evening, November 13, 2024, from 6:00 to 8:00 PM at Memorial Redwood Mortuary, 6500 South Redwood Road, West Jordan, Utah. Interment following services on Thursday at Memorial Redwood Cemetery.