John died Monday, January 17th, at the age of 84, of Acute Respiratory Distress Syndrome. Born in St. Louis and raised on the prairies of Illinois, he spent most of his adult life—except for six years—in Utah while longing for the trees of his youth. Awarded a B.S. in Ed. from Eastern Illinois University in 1959 and an M.A. from BYU in 1969, he studied for a Ph.D. at Indiana University 1972- 1978. During a 34-year career in education, his favorite experiences were teaching a large multi-age group (4th, 5th, and 6th grades) in a team of four at East Midvale Elementary 1967-1968, and teaching German I and II at Union Middle School 1983- 1998. Of German ancestry, he visited his ancestral homeland three times between 2006 and 2008. He published a volume of family history, A Search for Identity, in 2014.

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As a convert, he was sealed to Annette Thompson from Lewiston, Idaho, in the Salt Lake Temple in February 1964; they met serendipitously on Temple Square in August 1963 and spent 58 years together raising a family of ten children. He enjoyed reading, gardening, doing crossword puzzles, listening to good music, eating good food, and engaging in pleasant conversation.

Preceded in death by his parents, Rev. Arthur C. and Louella (Brand) Kuehn, brother Robert Lee, and son Robert John. Survived by his wife Annette; sister Winona Mae (Gertz), Springfield, MO; sons Todd, Jeremy, Benjamin, Daniel and Thomas; daughters Tara, Nannette, Melinda, and Jennifer; 19 grandchildren; and 4 great-grandchildren.

Private graveside service and interment at Larkin Sunset Gardens.

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Larkin Sunset Gardens
1950 E 10600 S
Sandy, UT

Life Story Info

Post Date

Jan 18, 2022

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Age

84
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Mr. Kuehn was my German teacher at Union Middle School. He was my favorite teacher by far. I had no interest in German until he was my teacher in another subject. I liked him so much, I decided to take German. I remember him flying a Fisher-price airplane around the classroom describing everything the airplane was doing in German. He always taught with a lot of enthusiasm. He was the best! I later served my church mission in Germany and I earned my BS with a minor in German! This is all because of his loving influence at a time in my life when I really needed someone who truly cared. Middle school was a very difficult time for me and he was one of the few people who gave me the hope and strength to survive it. Thank you John Kuehn!

Kent Shelton , West Jordan, UT, US May 29, 2022

Our Sincere Sympathy

Sarah Wisnasky Yates Jan 20, 2022

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