of Little Rock, AR
March 27, 1934 - March 9, 2025
Joan was born and raised in South Orange, New Jersey with her sister Adele Mutwalli and parents, Martin and Adele Wallace. Growing up Joan was always busy. In her younger years she swam competitively during the summer at Rock Ridge Lake. During high school she was a baton twirler. She went on to Syracuse University, joining the Zeta Tau Alpha sorority and was the Sigma Chi fraternity sweetheart.
After college, Joan met the love of her life on a blind date. Seymour and Joan Kurtz went on to have 4 children , William, Ellen, Carolyn, Nancee, and moved to Arizona when the children were in elementary school. Seymour's work eventually took them back to New Jersey, then back to
Texas where they lived for over 40 years. Joan and Seymour were married for 60 years prior to his passing. Joan was a Girl Scout and Cub Scout leader, but found her passion volunteering at Houston Northwest Hospital. She volunteered for 30 years, serving as the Volunteer
President and winning Volunteer of the Year.
After Seymour's passing, Joan relocated to Little Rock to live with her daughter, Carolyn. Joan was a 28 year survivor of breast cancer. She was a founding member of the breast cancer support group at Houston Northwest Hospital. Joan loved going out to dinner, seeing Broadway musicals, the TCU Horned Frogs, watching the Little League World Series, the Olympics, and playing the slots in Las Vegas (win or lose!). Joan was preceded in death by her husband, Seymour and son in law, Ronald Ryan.
She is survived by her 4 children, William Kurtz, Ellen Kurtz-Hammond (Steven), Carolyn Graves, Nancee Ryan, her 11 grandchildren, 6 great grandchildren, her sister, Adele Mutwalli, and her poodle Annie.