Members of the Wright City community were saddened to learn May 15 of the unexpected death of Curt Kehoe, director of the Wright City Parks and Recreation Department.
Kehoe served as the city’s …
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Members of the Wright City community were saddened to learn May 15 of the unexpected death of Curt Kehoe, director of the Wright City Parks and Recreation Department.
Kehoe served as the city’s parks director for more than 17 years, enthusiastically organizing programs to provide activities and recreation for young people. He was also active with local organizations including the Wright City Area Chamber of Commerce.
Throughout his life, Kehoe was involved in organizing and coaching sports, particularly baseball.
“This is a great loss to our city,” said Mayor Dan Rowden. “Every kid that’s grown up playing sports of any kind in Wright City has played for Curt, or he’s umpired a game for them or had something to do with them playing ball.”
Numerous special events and community festivals were organized by Kehoe, who put countless hours into making sure the city’s two parks were ready to host sports and activities, Rowden said. Kehoe also frequently worked with local Eagle Scouts on projects in the parks.
“Anything that had to do with the parks department, Curt had a hand in making that happen,” Rowden said.
Former City Clerk and Treasurer Karen Girondo, who worked with Kehoe for many years, said in an open letter that she met him for the first time in the early 1980s as their boys were playing tee-ball. Even before his boys played, he was heavily involved with the local baseball league, Girondo recalled.
Around 20 years later, after serving on the Wright City Park Board for years, Kehoe was hired as the city’s first official parks director, Girondo said.
“Curt started many traditions that the kids of Wright City look forward to every year, such as the annual Easter egg hunt, trunk or treat, breakfast with Santa and the Christmas parade, just to name a few,” Girondo said. “Curt had a commitment to the youth of this community and gave countless hours to see that the programs he worked so hard to grow were successful.”
Many others took to social media to express their condolences and share fond memories of Kehoe’s life in Wright City.
“I’ve known, played for and coached for Curt for many years. He was a class act and one of the best for youth sports,” commented Matthew Stout on Facebook. “His presence will be greatly missed. The Wright City town and parks were a better place because of him.”
Kehoe’s last conversation with The Record was the evening before his passing. He was discussing plans to plant flowers that attract butterflies to the parks.
