Gregory “Greg” George Kurdzos

Gregory “Greg” George Kurdzos, 70, died Tuesday, January 10, 2017 at Valley Medical Center of heart failure.

Greg was born to Ethel (Lynch) Kurdzos and George Kurdzos on September 25, 1946 in New York City. The oldest of four children, he often described an adventurous childhood growing up in New York, playing with friends until he would be called in each evening. After graduating high school, Greg joined the Air Force and was stationed in Texas. Greg returned home to New York City where he worked briefly for the telephone company installing phones. Eventually he followed in his father’s footsteps by joining the New York Police Department, with a beat near Bellevue Hospital. Although only a cop for three years, the experience gave him a lifetime of stories and one of his best friends, Ron Zollo.

After he returned from the Air Force, Greg met the love of his life, Christine “Chris” Glubiak. They were married on September 23, 1972. They moved out to Kent, Washington in 1976 where Greg took a job at Boeing as a security guard, a career he had for almost 40 years. Although their family was on the East Coast, Greg and Chris soon created a West Coast family, not only with the birth of their two children Kevan and Lauren, but also through another lifelong friendship with neighbors Jody and Betty Taylor. Greg and Jody enjoyed terrorizing their neighborhood together with their love of loud power tools and super sized solutions to small problems, once almost setting fire to Greg and Chris’ house while trying to get rid of a hornet’s nest.

In 1992, Chris passed away from colon cancer. Greg met the challenge of single parenthood with humor and love, doing everything he could for his children.

Greg, Mugsy, and Chris

Greg had many hobbies and loves. A dog person his whole life, he especially loved bulldogs, and none more than Mugsy. Anyone who knew Greg had seen  picture of Mugsy and heard of his devotion to all members of their family. Although Greg loved his West Coast home, he longed for his favorite New York foods and would often ship delicacies out to share with family and friends. As Greg neared retirement, he took on the new passion of genealogy. He spent hours researching his family history, which also allowed him to connect with many distant family members.

In 2014 Greg took on his favorite role as Grandpa with the birth of his granddaughters, Christine Roles and Zoe Kurdzos. He enjoyed spoiling and playing with them as often as possible.

Greg is survived by his children Kevan (Renee) Kurdzos and Lauren Spears (Chris Roles); granddaughters Zoe Kurdzos and Christine Roles; and brothers Dennis (Debbie) Kurdzos and Gary (Donna) Kurdzos. Greg was preceded in death by his wife, Christine Glubiak, and his sister, Patricia Kurdzos.

A private gathering will be held at Greg’s home to celebrate his life on January 29.

Donations in lieu of flowers may be sent to Seattle Cancer Care Alliance, P.O. Box 19023, Seattle WA 98109-1023 or online at https://secure.seattlecca.org/.