Obituary of Gary Michael Kuhn, 85
Gary Michael Kuhn.
– Gary Michael Kuhn went home to be with the Lord on May 11, 2026, after a lifetime battle with skin cancer. He was born September 28, 1940, in Bakersfield, California to Franklin Louis and Eva Coulson Kuhn, the oldest of four. He graduated from Cal Poly SLO and taught high school 37 years, the last 30 at Atascadero High School. He was a track and cross country coach – and a marathoner and pole vaulter himself.
In 1968 he coached his cross country team from Rio Mesa High School in Oxnard to that school’s first CIF championship earned in any sport. In 2023 Gary and his team were inducted into Rio Mesa’s newly instituted Hall of Fame.
Gary started teaching at Atascadero High School in the fall of 1972 where he taught English and World History and coached track and cross country. He led his cross country team to league championships in 1975 and then every year from 1978 to 1984. He made history come alive for his students with an emphasis on fascinating true stories.
Gary was an avid golfer with a 7 handicap at one point. He shot his age (or below) at least 5 times. He was Senior Club Champion at Paso Robles Golf Club three times: 2004, 2007, and 2012.
After retirement for over 15 years he gave monthly History Presentations at senior centers all around SLO County. He loved sharing information about his travels and about his favorite historical topics.
But most important of all, Gary loved and served the Lord. He dedicated his life to Christ in the 1980s and loved to sing praises to the Lord. He loved music, and he enjoyed leading worship at the Gospel Chapel in Atascadero and being on the worship team at Covenant Presbyterian Church in Paso Robles. Gary served as a Chaplain at Twin Cities and as a Deacon at Covenant for a number of years. He had a heart for people and was full of puns and jokes and embellished stories.
He is survived by his wife Ruth, six children and two step-children: Jennifer Beamer, Elizabeth Janni (Keith), Rebekah Fontanilla (Jomel), Susana Mills (Ben), Rachael Douglas (John), Stephen Kuhn (Mia), Jennifer Van Steenwyk, and David Smith (Maya). The joy of his life were his 16 grandchildren and 3 great-grands. He is also survived by siblings Suzanne Duran (Eddy), Jeffrey Kuhn, and Judi Johnson.
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