Cutkomp, Laurence Kremer

CUTKOMP, DURFEE, KREMER, BRETZ, PRETZ, WHICHER, MORGAN, SLEPPY

Posted By: volunteer
Date: 4/24/2006 at 20:04:20

Cutkomp, Laurence Kremer

90, of St. Paul, Minnesota

Died February 20, 2006

Larry passed away peacefully after a short illness, surrounded by his wife Ethel and his family at Regions Hospital in St. Paul.

Larry was a professor emeritus of entomology at the University of Minnesota where he conducted research and taught graduate students for
nearly 40 years. He was born January 24, 1916, in Wapello, Iowa, the son of Fred Morgan Cutkomp and Glen Kremer Cutkomp. He was raised near
Columbus Junction and in Wapello. Larry was valedictorian of Columbus Junction High School class of 1933. He and his wife Ethel attended high school reunions regularly, even the 2005 reunion, staying at the Columbus Motel. He also enjoyed visiting his cousins living in the
area, including those from the Kremer, Bretz/Pretz, and Cutkomp families.

After graduating from Iowa Wesleyan in Mt. Pleasant, Larry received his PhD in entomology from Cornell University. He worked on mosquito control for the Tennessee Valley Authority in the 1940's. Later in his career, he worked on sterilization of fruit flies with the International Atomic Energy Agency in Vienna, Austria. As an entomologist his work on insect
control took him around the world to many exotic places including Egypt,Lebanon, Tanzania, India, China, Europe, and Costa Rica. In addition,
he wrote several books and more than 100 articles about insects. Two of his books are How to Know the Immature Insects with H. F. Chu,
published by William C. Brown, in 1992 (2nd ed.), and Senses and Moves in Insects, a book for high school students, published in 2005 by Xlibris.

Larry's spirit of adventure and love for family led him on to many more travels. He kept himself physically fit by walking every day, playing
hand ball, cross country skiing, biking, bowling and swimming, and a variety of other sports enjoyed with his children and grandchildren. He
was also quite a philanthropist and avid supporter of human rights.

Laurence's father, Fred Morgan Cutkomp, who was Louisa County auditor, and his mother, Glen Kremer, are both buried in the Wapello Cemetery.
His grandparents were early settlers of Louisa County; they include Whitney S. and Elizabeth E. Whicher Kremer of Wapello, and Charles and
Martha Morgan Cutkomp of Columbus City. Whitney Kremer was an early Louisa County surveyor. Whitney and his parents Jacob and Mary Sleppy
Kremer were originally from Wilkes-Barre, Pennsylvania; they are buried in Wapello Cemetery. His grandfather Charles Cutkomp, born as Carl Heinrich Gottlieb Kottkamp in Lübbecke, Westphalia, Germany, immigrated with his family to the United States; he is buried in Bretz Cemetery south of Columbus City. Charles's mother, Anna Marie Louise Kottkamp, and his sisters, Catherine Bretz and Louise Willmering, are buried in Columbus City Cemetery. His grandmother Martha Morgan Cutkomp is also
buried in Columbus City Cemetery next to her father, William Morgan, who emigrated from Wales.

Survivors include Larry's wife, Ethel B. Longley of St. Paul, daughters Kay (Dave) Bahan of Mechanicville, N.Y., Terry (Esi) Ostovar of
Asheville, N.C., and Lee (Dan) Ross of Hovland, Minn., and son Kent (Deb) Cutkomp of Minneapolis, grandchildren Andrew Cutkomp, Kayhan and Payam Ostovar, Naseem Ostovar (Gideon) Alston, and great grandchildren
Braden and Whalen Alston. He is also mourned by Ethel's daughters Barbara and Mary Durfee and their families.

A memorial service is planned for April 29 at Unity Church in St. Paul. Details will be announced in April.

Memorial contributions preferred to Unity Church, 732 Holly Ave., St. Paul, MN 55104, or to the charity of your choice.