Kurt’s Story!

Kurt (Ace) Von Worrell, age 66, passed away July 6, 2023, at home in Mount Vernon, Washington.  He was born August 6, 1956, in Seattle, WA to Curtis and Phyllis (Barnett) Worrell.  He was preceded in death by his father and mother.

He is survived by his son, Michael; grandchildren, Adam and Elena; six sisters, Valerie (Jay) Burgess, Diana Macha, Lori (Richard) Zawlacki, Yvonne Worrell, Fran (Jon) Heath and Davina (Mitch Forsythe) Schnabel; stepmother, Pamela Worrell; numerous nieces, nephews and cousins.

Kurt worked as a certified mechanic for over 45 yrs.  He enjoyed fishing and camping (at times camping alone just because).  He was into any type of racing: dragsters, figure-8, stockcar, and sprint cars.

He (Ace) was big on family.  He loved our yearly family reunions.  He enjoyed telling family history for which he had a good mind to remember.  His jovial hearty laughter was spontaneous and drew others around him as he told his entertaining narratives.

Kurt had been a highly skilled mechanic with top industry certifications for over fifty years.  He maintained current technical and relative skills and certifications to be top in his field.  Kurt retired a few years back, but he greatly appreciated and cared for his employer John and his wife.  Kurt often spoke highly of them and relayed how they supported and cared for him, especially when at work with that home cooked meal every day for lunch.

He put friends and family first.  If you were in his circle, you were highly prized as an individual.  If you weren’t in his circle, you might just get a grunt or two.  Well actually, he did not hesitate to help anyone when he was still able.  Eager to play cribbage for hours, and in younger years, a good game of chess.  His favorite was playing dominos with a big group of friends and family clustered around the table where the laughter rang out as all played.

He was a devoted father to his son, Mike.  A loving grandfather to Adam and Elena.  Kurt involved his son to be part of his own passions as Mike grew up, as well as the grandkids.  And he had many lofty interests.  Once he devoted himself to something, he stuck to it and gave 100%.

Kurt was an owner, driver and mechanic of a supercomp dragster, racing it through the years as Mike grew up.  Mike got to be a pit-kid and part of that exciting lifestyle.  Kurt kept his dragster in top performance and at times his racing points ranked him high in the standings.

Kurt’s other passion was piloting a glider, which he had his pilot’s license since his early twenties.  His son, Mike absorbed this passion being that he had grown up around it, and enjoyed many flights as a child with his father over the foothills of the Issaquah area.  Once Mike was a glider pilot himself, the two of them co-owned a glider until a storm destroyed it on the ground.  It was a wonderful partnership and created many memories together.  Kurt was a member of the Puget Sound Soaring Association and often volunteered on weekends at the field until his sight diminished too much.

As an accomplished musician, he played the bass saxophone in high school and early twenties, and then the drums.  He joined a successful local band that played in the Kirkland and Bellevue areas.  In fact, before he was of legal age to be in this one particular bar, he performed on the drums with this band nearly every night.  He continued to play his drum set through the years and enjoyed great music on his expensive stereo set and sound system.

Kurt was very close to his father, Curtis, who passed away in 2018.  As a young child growing up in Florida, Kurt participated in a regional fishing contest for the biggest seatrout, while his father, Curtis was at work at NASA, Curtis learned that his son had on a big one, so he immediately rushed home to watch his son pull in what became the prize-winning seatrout for Kurt’s age group.  Kurt’s picture was in the paper, and he received a pin of accomplishment and a cash prize.

He was preceded by his beloved dog, Otis.  A dog that served by his side for over 15 years.  It was hard on Kurt when he lost her, and he never got another dog after the loss of her.

Kurt will be greatly missed.  His health declined in the last few years, robbing him of the things he enjoyed so much, and robbing us, his friends and family, of our devoted, intelligent, humorous, and passionate father, grandfather, brother, son, uncle, cousin, nephew, and friend.