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Signs were installed Monday along Colorado Highway 3 to honor Marine Capt. Jeff Kuss, a Durango native who died in a jet crash while practicing with the U.S. Navy Blue Angels.<\/p>\n
The highway in south Durango will carry the honorary designation of \u201cCaptain Jeff Kuss Memorial Highway.\u201d<\/p>\n
Kuss, 32, crashed the F\/A-18C Hornet he was piloting crashed June 2, 2016, as the Blue Angels prepared to perform in the Great Tennessee Air Show in Smyrna, Tennessee. He was a graduate of Durango High School and Fort Lewis College.<\/p>\n
In March, the state Legislature unanimously adopted House Joint Resolution 1015 to name the highway for Kuss. The highway, just over two miles long, will continue to also carry the state Highway 3 name. The resolution was brought forward by Rep. Barbara McLachlan, D-Durango, and co-sponsored by all members of both chambers.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe drive that highway a lot, and he\u2019ll always have a special place in our heart, and this will just remind us every time we\u2019re passing through how special a guy he was,\u201d Michael Kuss, Jeff\u2019s father, said when the resolution was adopted.<\/p>\n
The town of Smyrna also is planning to honor Kuss with a $1 million memorial that will include a retired Blue Angel F\/A-18 Hornet on permanent loan from Pensacola\u2019s National Naval Aviation Museum, according to the town website.<\/p>\n
Smyrna Mayor Mary Esther Reed says on a video about the memorial that after the crash the town began to talk about what it should do to honor Kuss.<\/p>\n
\u201cThey wanted to see some type of memorial they could physically go to,\u201d Reed says on the video.<\/p>\n
Fundraising is underway for the memorial in a Smyrna park.<\/p>\n
\u201cThis memorial is a wonderful tribute to Jeff\u2019s life and distinguished service,\u201d his wife, Christina Kuss, says on the video.<\/p>\n