Capt. Kurt L. Gattmann

[ironputts]

October 5, 2021

Capt. Kurt L. Gattmann
Vance Brand Cadet Squadron
Colorado Wing

Kurt was blessed to grow up in North Hollywood in the post-war era known as the golden age of America. His father was a U.S. Navy Captain and hero of WWII and his mother worked for Consolidated Vultee, designing the camouflage pattern for the B-24 Liberator. His parents and many others of this "greatest generation" mentored Kurt into the man he would become -- a man of God, father, grandfather, dear friend, and patriot. When asked how he would like to be remembered, he said, "A Christian who did his duty, for God, family, and country".

Kurt reminisced often about special times growing up in North Hollywood on Kling Street. As a preteen, he and his best friend Robin would camp out under the stars in the back yard. Kurt would bring his Bible and trade Robin for his Book of Catechism. They would read each other's 'books' and talk about God. Kurt shared that this is when his abiding faith in the Lord began.

Kurt's faith was made richer by the influence and love of his wonderful Jewish neighbors, these beautiful "other mothers" who would grab him by the cheek, and say, "Ahh the Gattmann boy! We need to fatten you up a bit!" After school he and his best friend Robin would ride their bicycles around the neighborhood to discover who had the best smells wafting from their kitchens. They were often lucky enough to be asked inside for a sweet treat or an entire meal, or not so lucky when presented with matzo ball soup or borscht! Kurt attended many bat- and bar-mitzvahs, and was often honored to be asked to pray at his Jewish mother's dinner tables.

The Gattmann 4 built another home when Kurt was a young teen and moved to 'White Oak' in the San Fernando valley. The family loved the ocean and Kurt grew up on the water, surfing, scuba diving, and sailing. His Dad, Captain J. Reed Gattmann, bought a family sailboat that was christened the 'Sea Oak' and their dinghy became the 'Acorn'. Gattmann family bonds were strengthened around special times sailing off the California coast. Kurt used these skills to teach sailing while attending college at the University of Southern California and later became an officer in the U. S. Coast Guard.

Kurt graduated from USC in 1974 and as a Freshman pledged the fraternity Sigma Chi. These men forged lifelong friendships and remain his brothers in Christ today. What a blessing as many of them have called and come to visit him from coast to coast these past few months. John Wayne was a USC Sigma Chi, and called the fraternity house often for 'extras' on film sets. Kurt participated with his brothers and can be seen in a few frames of the films, MASH, Bob & Carol & Ted & Alice, and The Graduate.

After graduating from USC, Kurt went on to get a graduate degree from the National Sheriff's Assn which opened doors for his dream of becoming a peace officer. Later that year, he became an officer for the California State Police. He attended Bel Air Presbyterian Church, and because he worshiped with the Reagan family, was asked to join the security detail for Governor Ronald Reagan, future 40th President of the United States. He drove the chase car for Gov Reagan and provided security detail for him and Nancy. One rainy cold night when Kurt was sitting patrol with his partner at the bottom of the Reagan's long driveway, the governor came out in his bath robe to deliver a thermos of hot coffee. Kurt was touched by this beautiful man's heart for others.

Kurt continued to have a successful career in law enforcement. He wouldn't use this terminology, and always said when asked about his career that he was a "peace officer". After serving for the California State Police, he became a Deputy Sheriff in 1975 for Maricopa County, Arizona, and served as Administrative Assistant to Sheriff Paul Blubaum. Kurt liked and respected the sheriff very much, describing him as a very smart and forward thinking man. They met previously at USC when Kurt was a graduate research assistant working on his master's degree and receiving free tuition while simultaneously working for the National Sheriff's Association. Sheriff Blubaum honored Kurt when he asked him to run the Maricopa County Sheriff's Training Academy, a job that he dearly loved. He then received an assignment that was his all time favorite. He lived in a trailer 'on the range' responding to calls and honing his skills as an expert marksman. It must be why he had so much fun watching the series Longmire!

In 1979 Kurt was accepted to attend the Federal Law Enforcement Training Academy, (FLETC pronounced "Fletcee") and graduated #1 in his class. He received a highly sought after assignment as Deputy U. S. Marshal in El Paso, Texas. Our U. S. Marshals enforce laws throughout the nation, and is the oldest American federal law enforcement office established in 1789 by President George Washington. Kurt was very successful and was recognized by his peers for having the highest arrest record. He explained this was because he would use his lunch hour to pull jackets on felons on the run and call their mothers. He would offer his personal protection if their sons would turn themselves in. Otherwise, he would turn their files over to the Texas Rangers. Inevitably these mothers who knew how to contact their sons, would convince them for their safety to surrender. They would be waiting on the court house bench to surrender to Marshal Kurt Gattmann!

Marshal Gattmann went on to do the detective work to hunt down one of the top ten most wanted criminals in the United States. He arrested Texas Drug Lord Jamiel "Jimmy" Chagra, who had hired a hit man to assassinate Federal Judge John Woods. Chagra was going before this judge known as "Maximum John" who was famous for his harsh sentences against drug traffickers.

During this critical time, all federal judges were protected, and Kurt provided protection for Judge William Sessions, the Chief Judge for the western district of Texas who later became Director of the FBI under President George H.W. Bush. Judge Sessions became Kurt's mentor, and he helped him with his decision to leave the Marshal service in 1983, joining his lifelong friend John Mork as a land and project manager for his oil business Eastern American Energy. This career move opened the door for Kurt's move to Colorado where he met his best friend and wife of 34 years, Patricia "Patty" Ann Bockhoff-Gattmann.

When asked how they met, Kurt would enjoy telling this story. Patty's cousin Tim was in the oil business, and had just arrived in Colorado after several years in Texas. Through a mutual friend, Kurt was introduced to Patty when friends gathered over dinner to later attend a performance by a jazz trio backed up by the Denver Symphony Orchestra. Tim and Patty were having so much fun, and Kurt asked his friend Rick if she was single, or, was she in love with this guy? He laughed and said, "You're in luck. It's her cousin!"

Kurt changed the name for the "other guy" to "Brand-X" since she wouldn't go out with him. He was persistent with flowers and the patience of Job. Kurt attended their church on several Sundays in hopes of bumping into her. One Sunday the pastor saw Kurt sitting through the third worship service in a row. Dr. Bob Beltz pulled Kurt aside and asked, "Are you a seminary student? Not even my wife sits through three of my sermons!" Bob laughed when Kurt told him the reason was a woman. Two and a half years later, Bob married Kurt and Patty!

Kurt served our country as an officer in the U. S. Coast Guard. During the 1984 Olympic Games in Los Angeles, Kurt worked for the Coast Guard Reserve checking documents of foreign vessels entering the harbor. After several days bouncing around in a Boston Whaler on the ocean waves, he experienced numbness in his feet. He was later diagnosed with syringomyelia, and required three major surgeries, all resulting from the 40' fall he had taken from the mast of the family sailboat at 21 years of age. He never complained about these physical setbacks, and as Paul's words in Romans 12:12 were fulfilled, Kurt was patient in affliction and lived life joyfully.

Kurt was by many friend's description, a "Renaissance man", an accomplished and loving representative of mankind, limitless in embracing others, seeking knowledge, and developing his own capacities as fully as possible. Kurt was knowledgeable, educated, and proficient in a wide range of fields. If you had a question about anything, instead of asking Google, it was just as accurate and a whole lot more fun to just call Kurt!

Kurt wore many hats as he continued to serve others. He was a Juvenile Specialist for the Colorado Division of Criminal Justice, and a real estate agent for Moore and Co and Century 21 in Aurora, CO, and 1st Realty in Longmont. He was a trained as an EMT Emergency Medical Technician, served on the Longmont Airport Advisory Board, and was Volunteer of the Year in the St Vrain School District.

Kurt was a firearms expert, shot competitively, and served on a SWAT team. He shot a National Record and was a National Champion for two years in police revolver. He was in the "Governor's 20" (top 20 best "shots") in three states, Arizona as a Maricopa Co Deputy Sheriff, Texas as a U. S. Marshal, and in Colorado for several years while serving as a reserve officer for the Colorado Division of Wildlife. While serving as a peace officer, he was shot at numerous times, and he said a few times, "had 10 pounds of pull on a 12 pound trigger". Thankfully by the grace of God, and Kurt's discernment, the hammer never dropped. If any of us can imagine being a bad guy committing a crime, we would surely hope that Marshal Kurt Gattmann would be there to arrest us!

Kurt was a hero with a servant's heart. He served his church, family, community, and country in so many ways. He served for 27 years as a volunteer fire fighter, Public Information Officer, Treasurer, Director, and Board President for the Boulder Rural Fire Protection District. He also served Boulder County as President of the Boulder Fire Council bringing consolidation and unification of the leaders of over 15 fire departments and 5 municipalities working together to put customers and citizens first. He loved these wonderful men and women who serve others, heroes all!

He served members of our church family with wisdom and grace as a counselor to those in crisis or to anyone who needed a kind and listening ear. Through Weld County Social Services, MYAT Program, LifeBridge Christian Church, and the faith based initiative, Kurt gave youth in trouble second chances and helped to keep them out of the criminal justice system. With his experience and law enforcement background, he became the gang specialist in the social services department for Weld County. With help from families, teachers, coaches, counselors, social workers, and judges, Kurt changed the course of many lives, guiding their footsteps along a better path. He was known to share some tough love too, saying, "Your future is on you, no one else".

He was known as Captain Kurt Gattmann, serving youth and families in the Civil Air Patrol, a non-profit civilian auxiliary of the United States Air Force (USAF). He poured his love and grace into mentoring these future leaders of our armed forces and our country. He helped young people discover their dreams, and prepared a path to meet the challenges along the way. Captain Gattmann loved them and believed in them, and these young people did the work to achieve those dreams. They received the gifts of love and grace, and the most important of life's lessons of honor, service and dignity from Captain Gattmann. Many of the cadets he mentored have received appointments to the USAF Academy, the US Naval Academy, West Point, the Merchant Marine Academy, and scholarships to top level universities, become airline and military pilots, firefighters, peace officers, and achieved the dreams and goals they set with the guidance and counsel of their loving mentor. When asked how he supported and taught these young people, he said, with "Hope, Faith, and Love. Pretty hard to beat!"

His greatest passion was sharing time in conversation with his family and friends. He was a stay at home Dad to his beloved son Reed, when at the time no one had heard of such a strange thing as Mom and Dad reversing roles in the work place. He was a wonderful father and blessed his son with all of his love and gifts from the Holy Spirit. He was beyond thrilled when Reed married Corinne Rene Easter, our daughter that we had prayed for since Reed was a baby. He went to Heaven and back again at the birth of his granddaughters Adelyne Grace and Harper Mae, and foster adopted grandson James, who all know him as "Papa! Papa! Papa!", truly music to his ears. Kurt imagined he would greet the Lord with these words and with the same joy, saying as he often prayed, "Abba! Abba! Abba!". These little ones found Papa so fascinating. Papa would look into them, and they would look back, deeply into his eyes with such love and affection. He loved them beyond measure. Charles Dickens captures the moments when he said, "It is no small thing, when they, who are so fresh from God, love us".

Kurt Lee Gattmann was a man of God dearly loved by his family and friends. He is survived by his wife, Patricia Ann Bockhoff-Gattmann, his son, William Reed Gattmann, his daughter in law Corinne Rene (Easter) Gattmann, his granddaughters, Adelyne Grace Gattmann and Harper Mae Gattmann, his sister, Gretchen Dee Gattmann Daley, brother-in-law Timothy Edward Daley, beloved sisters-in-law and brothers-in-law, nieces and nephews, and cousins.

Kurt went peacefully into the arms of Jesus, knowing and feeling all the love from your visits, calls, stories, and prayers. Our family thanks you from the bottom of our hearts.