Don Kuhl

The last time Don Kuhl was featured in this publication he was in his sixties and made the front page after being struck by a van while riding his motorcycle through West Union. He walked away from that accident and kept on riding well into his seventies. Always exploring, it was motorcycle riding that brought him to Adams County, just riding through the beautiful countryside. He eventually made it his home about 30 years ago, moving here from his birthplace in Cincinnati. He stayed in Adams County until he passed away on April 7, 2024 at the age of 85. Back in the day, if you rang his phone and got his voicemail you’d hear him say, “I’m probably out chasing the yellow lines, leave a message”.

Don was larger than life and twice as complicated, just as likely to take the wind out of your sails or make you laugh with his sharp wit as he was to pique your curiosity with his encyclopedic knowledge of, well, an encyclopedia’s worth of topics (film, guns, airplane/car/motorcycle mechanics, dictatorships of the Global South, the habits of beavers, music, art, revolutionary political movements, just to name a few). He often communicated by letter, including funny little doodles. He took copious notes, and had shoeboxes full of photos. He made sculptures out of motorcycle parts, coffee cans and tree branches. He could point you directly to any specific book on his overflowing shelves. He was a singularly curious person, a quality which he never lost. He was fiercely independent. He was persistently and resolutely himself, world around him be damned.

He is survived by his children, Kirby, Mason, Aline and Sarah; his grandchildren, Sarah, Sean, Colin, Correna, Rudy and Grayson; his four great-grandchildren; his brother, Ron; and his nieces and nephew. His memory is carried on by many. He cared deeply about the preservation of the land and community here.

May Don chase the yellow lines forever on the road that never ends.