MADISON - Thomas Gordan Kurtz, age 83, of Madison, passed away on Saturday, April 19, 2025. He was born on July 14, 1941, in Kansas City, Mo., the son of Paul and Ruth (Kreikenbaum) Kurtz.

Tom grew up in La Plata, Mo., and graduated from La Plata High School in 1959. He graduated from the University of Missouri in 1963 and earned his Ph.D. in mathematics from Stanford University in 1967.

Tom met Carolyn S. Neville in July of 1963 and married her six weeks later, right before they drove cross country for him to start graduate school. After graduating they moved to Madison and immediately began the process to adopt their children, Marci and Kevin. Tom worked for the University of Wisconsin-Madison from 1967 until his retirement in 2008, whereupon he continued working as an “emeritus” professor.

As a world-renowned mathematician and statistician, Tom published over 150 articles, one textbook (Markov Processes: Characterization and Convergence), and his work has been cited over 12,000 times in other articles and publications. He was inducted into the Academy of Arts & Sciences in 2005 for his authoritative work on Markov processes and other contributions to applied mathematics, probabilities and statistics.

Tom took several sabbaticals around the world. He loved traveling, whether as a guest lecturer or for leisure. He frequently took his entire family on trips across the United States and around the globe. His life-long love of travel instilled a travel bug in his daughter and grandchildren.

A staunch supporter of the arts, Tom was a season subscriber to the Madison Symphony Orchestra and American Players Theater. He also sang in his church choir and was a prolific reader. He firmly believed in giving back to his community and was active in his church and politics, and he contributed to many charities related to education and the arts. He often said he wished he could do more and wanted to make the world a better place for his grandchildren. Tom was profoundly generous, humble and gracious to all who knew him.

Thomas is survived by his daughter, Marci Kurtz; son-in-law, Chris Paulsen; grandchildren, Rhiannon and Cameron Kurtz, Zack, Nick, Griffin and Beckett Paulsen; and his brother’s family, Betsy, Lara, David, Joel, Jackson and Stefan Kurtz. He was preceded in death by his wife, Carolyn; son, Kevin; and brother, Jack.

A memorial service will be held at MIDDLETON COMMUNITY CHURCH, 645 Schewe Road, Middleton, at 11 a.m. on Saturday, May 17, 2025, with the Rev. Zayna Thomley presiding. A luncheon will follow the service at the church at noon on Saturday.

In lieu of flowers, donations in memoriam may be made to American Players Theater or the Wisconsin Public Broadcasting Service. Online condolences may be made at www.gundersonfh.com.

Gunderson West

Funeral & Cremation Care
7435 University Ave.
(608) 831-6761

Thomas Kurtz

July 14, 1941 - April 19, 2025

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