{"id":104706,"date":"2016-06-08T21:07:52","date_gmt":"2016-06-09T03:07:52","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/dh.durangoherald.com\/tj\/durango-to-mourn-blue-angels-pilot-jeff-kuss-on-saturday\/"},"modified":"2016-06-08T21:07:52","modified_gmt":"2016-06-09T03:07:52","slug":"durango-to-mourn-blue-angels-pilot-jeff-kuss-on-saturday","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/dh.durangoherald.com\/tj\/durango-to-mourn-blue-angels-pilot-jeff-kuss-on-saturday\/","title":{"rendered":"Durango to mourn Blue Angels pilot Jeff Kuss on Saturday"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<p><!-- gallery:6840e710-0ec3-4a6a-b7bb-fd1064c62397 --><\/p>\n<figure class=\"wp-block-embed is-type-video wp-block-embed-youtube naviga-video-embed\">\n<div class=\"wp-block-embed__wrapper\"><iframe loading=\"lazy\" width=\"560\" height=\"315\" src=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/DlPiQ7Tko2E\" frameborder=\"0\" allow=\"accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture\" allowfullscreen><\/iframe><\/div>\n<\/figure>\n<p>For five days, the coverage of the death of Marine Capt. Jeff Kuss, a member of the Blue Angels has focused on his life as a pilot. But for La Plata County residents, the Durango native was the kid they watched grow up in a deeply rooted local family.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cWe want the world to know who he was. He was way more than a pilot,\u201d his mother, Janet Kuss, said from Pensacola, Florida, in a phone interview Tuesday. \u201cHe was humble, humorous and handsome. He made everyone feel like he was their best friend. We learned so much from him.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Jeff Kuss died Thursday when his plane crashed shortly after takeoff for a Blue Angels practice session for an airshow in Tennessee.<\/p>\n<p>His personality and commitment are what his family will most remember.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cHe was such a positive guy, the positive kid who worked hard,\u201d Janet Kuss said. \u201cIt didn\u2019t come easy, he worked hard for all his goals, and he took it very, very seriously.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>In addition to his mother, wife, Christina, and children Calvin, 4, and Sloane, 1, Jeff Kuss\u2019 father, Michael Kuss, and brother, Eric Kuss, are in Pensacola. When they bring Jeff Kuss\u2019 body back to Durango on Friday, it will truly be a return home.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cWe were a Sunnyside family,\u201d Janet Kuss said. \u201cHe had the best teachers and support group at Sunnyside Elementary School.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Everything started, she said, when her son attended Sunnyside Farms Preschool.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cGinny Benton didn\u2019t just start his love of flying and jets, she was an important character builder, taught him manners, really groomed him to be what he grew into,\u201d Janet Kuss said.<\/p>\n<p>His mother doesn\u2019t have many memories of Jeff Kuss\u2019 time at Escalante Middle School \u2013 those are years parents just try to get through, she said.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cBut he played the violin through middle school and high school,\u201d she said. \u201cAnd at the time of his death, he had become quite an accomplished guitar player. One of his favorite things was playing to his kids in the evening.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>While Jeff Kuss\u2019 involvement with the Durango High School tennis team has been recounted, his most beloved sport was soccer, Janet Kuss said, and Jeff Kuss played on the DHS varsity soccer team.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cHe started when the kids were young,\u201d Janet Kuss said, \u201cand at first I was his coach, and then Michael was his coach.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>One of the family\u2019s favorite memories is climbing all 54 of Colorado\u2019s Fourteeners with the Kent and Becky Wigton family over a period of many summers. They finished when Jeff Kuss was a student at Fort Lewis College.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cThat was a big deal,\u201d Janet Kuss said. \u201cEveryone has to pull their weight, learn how to set camp, climb and be safe. There\u2019s a lot of camaraderie.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Jeff Kuss graduated from Durango High School in 2002 and from Fort Lewis College in 2006 with a bachelor\u2019s degree in economics.<\/p>\n<p>His wife, Christina Ferrarese, who also grew up in Durango, also graduated from DHS in 2002 and earned a bachelor\u2019s degree from FLC. The couple married circa 2009, Janet Kuss said.<\/p>\n<p>Jeff Kuss talked about his philosophy of life in an interview with a Durango Herald reporter at the end of January as he prepared to fly over the Super Bowl.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cWe\u2019re excited to represent the men and women in our military and just show people a brief glimpse of the discipline and the focus we have in our formation and our flight demonstration and hopefully pique some interest in the crowd about serving our country either in the military or just public service of some sort,\u201d he said. \u201cOur goal is just to inspire and have kids and youth strive for excellence and just try to be good people. So if you want to go out and be a doctor or plumber or lawyer or a fighter pilot \u2013 whatever you want to do \u2013 you just go out and work your hardest and be a good person and make those around you better.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>His Durango roots always mattered to him.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cIt\u2019s an honor for me coming from Durango,\u201d Jeff Kuss said in January, \u201cand now being here and looking back and saying, \u2018Gosh, if I were 7-year-old me and looking at what I was able to do, it would be pretty cool.\u2019 I\u2019m pretty proud to be from Durango.\u201d<\/p>\n<div class=\"naviga-element naviga-subheadline1\">In Pensacola<\/div>\n<p>Before Jeff Kuss comes home, his adopted home of Pensacola, where the Blue Angels are stationed, will mourn him. After a full military memorial service in the morning, a public candlelight vigil will be held from 7:30 to 8:30 p.m. at Veterans Park in Pensacola on Thursday.<\/p>\n<p>His family\u2019s time in Pensacola has been overwhelming, Janet Kuss said.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cThe whole town of Pensacola has been unbelievably kind to us,\u201d Janet Kuss said, \u201cbut every turn here reminds you of him.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>On Tuesday, the Blue Angels announced cancellations at two more air shows, one in Syracuse, New York, and another in Ohio, in addition to last weekend\u2019s scheduled event in Smyrna, Tennessee, where the crash occurred.<\/p>\n<p>Jeff Kuss\u2019 commanding officer released a statement:<\/p>\n<p>\u201cJeff absolutely loved our Sunday evening arrivals,\u201d  Cmdr. Ryan J. Bernacchi said. \u201cFlying in over downtown, \u2018smokin\u2019 the beach\u2019 from Pensacola to Perdido (Key), and then the hitting the Delta Pitch Up Break at sunset into Naval Air Station Pensacola. The smile I would see radiating from under that gold visor was truly spectacular. It emanated the pride, passion and pure joy that he felt representing the Navy and Marine Corps, flying Blue Angel 6 \u2026 As Jeff\u2019s family and the Blue Angels have navigated this immensely difficult time, a constant gift has been the unwavering support from our hometown of Pensacola and from all across this great nation. This great city, and also this great nation, have lost a Blue Angel. We are all grieving this tremendous loss and inspired by the life he lived so incredibly well.\u201d<\/p>\n<p><em class=\"mwc_shirttail\"><a href=\"mailto:abutler@durangoherald.com\">abutler@durangoherald.com<\/a><\/em><\/p>\n<div class=\"naviga-scoreboard\">\n<h4 class=\"scoreboard-title\">To donate<\/h4>\n<p>A GoFundMe site has been set up to benefit the family of Marine Capt. Jeff Kuss, a Durango native.<br>\n                The fundraiser was set up by Kuss\u2019 sister-in-law, Nicole Perino.<br>\n                \u201cCaptain Kuss made the ultimate sacrifice and has left behind his precious wife, Christina, and two small children, Calvin, 4, and Sloane, 1,\u201d the page reads. \u201cThis family needs all of our support and Jeff is a true American hero who saved the lives of thousands in this terrible tragedy. Jeff was born and raised in Durango, Colorado, and learned to fly before he could drive.\u201d<br>\n                By Tuesday afternoon, 3,360 donors had contributed more than $271,000 toward the goal of $500,000.<br>\n                To donate, visit<br>\n                www.gofundme.com\/jeffkuss.<br>\n                Also, the International Council of Air Shows has established a fund for the family, according to its website. The organization provides financial assistance to members of the air show community after a death or other catastrophe. Donors may contribute money to the Capt. Jeff Kuss Foundation at<br>\n                www.icasfoundation.org<br>\n                .<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"naviga-scoreboard\">\n<h4 class=\"scoreboard-title\">If You Go<\/h4>\n<p>The schedule for Capt. Jeff Kuss\u2019 services has been established:<br>\n                Tuesday<br>\n                Pensacola flyover: 5:45 p.m. CDT. Fat Albert, the Blue Angels\u2019 C-130 Hercules, has been renamed No. 6, Kuss\u2019 flight number, Kuss\u2019 mother, Janet Kuss, said. Accompanied by one F\/A-18 Hornet, the planes the Blue Angels fly, No. 6 flew over downtown Pensacola, Pensacola Beach and Perdido Key, Florida, to bring his body to Naval Air Station Pensacola, the Blue Angels\u2019 home base. Blue Angels Lead Solo Lt. Ryan Chamberlain flew the Hornet.<br>\n                Thursday<br>\n                Memorial service: 11 a.m. CDT at the Naval Air Station Pensacola Chapel. \u201cIt will be a full-on military ceremony, with military honors and a military chaplain,\u201d Kuss\u2019 mother, Janet Kuss, said. \u201cJeff was a detail guy, and he would have wanted all the details.\u201d A candlelight vigil is planned for 7:30 p.m. at Veterans Memorial Park in Pensacola.<br>\n                Friday<br>\n                Return to Durango: No. 6 will fly Kuss\u2019 body home to the Durango-La Plata County Airport. The family prefers a private return, his mother said.<br>\n                Saturday<br>\n                Motorcade: Beginning at 11 a.m. on 32nd Street, a motorcade will drive along Main Avenue south to College Drive. It will run west on College to Camino del Rio, where it will turn right and proceed to the 9th Street Bridge, where it will turn left and go to Greenmount Cemetery. Residents are encouraged to line the motorcade route. Road closures and traffic delays are likely, but the Durango Police Department is working out the details on managing the 4-mile route, Lt. Ray Shupe said.<br>\n                Graveside service: The service \u2013 and the cemetery \u2013 will be closed to the public, but residents may hear the 21-gun salute. Marine Fighter Attack Squadron 312, the famous Checkerboards and Kuss\u2019 unit before the Blue Angels, will fly over in the Missing Man formation. The Rim at Fort Lewis College will be one good viewing point for the flyover.<br>\n                Reception: 2-4 p.m. at the Student Union at Fort Lewis College. The family will receive friends. \u201cI want to greet the public and give a handshake or a hug to everyone,\u201d Janet Kuss said, \u201cto help the community heal.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Mother: \u2018He was way more than a pilot\u2019<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":104707,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[5736,5735],"tags":[874,592,915,1431,132,13,3279],"naviga_topic":[],"class_list":["post-104706","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-local-news","category-news","tag-air-and-space-crash","tag-durango-high-school","tag-durango-la-plata-county-airport","tag-escalante-middle-school","tag-fort-lewis-college","tag-frontpage-lead","tag-sunnyside-elementary"],"acf":[],"author_name":"dh_admin","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/dh.durangoherald.com\/tj\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/104706","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/dh.durangoherald.com\/tj\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/dh.durangoherald.com\/tj\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dh.durangoherald.com\/tj\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dh.durangoherald.com\/tj\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=104706"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/dh.durangoherald.com\/tj\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/104706\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dh.durangoherald.com\/tj\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/104707"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/dh.durangoherald.com\/tj\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=104706"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dh.durangoherald.com\/tj\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=104706"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dh.durangoherald.com\/tj\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=104706"},{"taxonomy":"naviga_topic","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dh.durangoherald.com\/tj\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/naviga_topic?post=104706"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}