Keith Alexander Wurzer

Keith Alexander Wurzer was born in October 21, 1935 in Lethbridge Alberta. He grew up in a town called Picture Butte, 27 km north of Lethbridge.  He had one sister, Sharon and his parents, Muriel (Beatty) and Herman Wurzer. Keith’s maternal grandmother was from Edinburgh Scotland. The Wurzers originated in Austria, farmed in North Dakota, and made their way to Alberta.

Keith moved to Calgary shortly after graduation from Picture Butte High School and studied to be an accountant, acquiring his Chartered Accountant designation in 1959.  He met Doreen at a movie in Calgary, who eventually became Mrs. Wurzer; Keith and Doreen were married for 65 years. 

Keith worked for Price Waterhouse and early on moved to Caracas Venezuela, where he took a job as a as an auditor with Price Waterhouse. Greg was born in Caracas. After three years, Keith, Doreen and Greg moved back to Calgary and into a house on Carney Road in 1964, and Jill was born the next year.

The Wurzers moved to Varsity Village in the spring of 1970. By this time, Keith worked for Marathon Realty, a subsidiary company of Canadian Pacific. One of the perks that Keith and his family enjoyed was being able to stay at wonderful CP hotels across Canada.

A few months after moving into Varvsille Place, Keith learned that he was being transferred with the company to Toronto. The family travelled by train to Toronto, which was a great adventure.

Keith found a house in Port Credit, Mississauga, just outside Toronto.  An elementary school was next door where Jill went into Grade 1 and Greg into grade 5. Keith took the GO Train to work in downtown Toronto at Marathon Realty.

The Wurzers moved back to Calgary in the summer of 1972 when Keith worked for PanCanadian Petroleum, another CP company; where he became VP Finance.

Keith took his family on memorable vacations such as driving to Disneyland in the spring of 1976, a trip to Hawaii during Christmas 1980, and road trips to Vancouver and Vancouver Island. The Wurzers also had wonderful family vacations to Kelowna B.C for 26 summers, most of the time staying at the Golden Sands Resort, enjoying swimming and sailing. Keith became a good sailor after Greg learned how to sail in school.

Keith was a devoted father and was always encouraging to his children and very generous. He enabled Greg to learn to ski. He also helped his family with travel opportunities and provided Greg and Jill with university and college educations.

Keith and Doreen loved to golf and were members of the Silver Springs golf club in Northwest Calgary. They attended many lunches, dinners, and pancake breakfasts during Stampede Week.

They eventually moved to Hawkwood in Northwest Calgary where Jill, Sydney and Matthew moved in with them. This home, for many years, was also where Inge, Greg and Samantha would come to visit in summers and for Christmases.

In retirement, Keith and Doreen travelled to Hawaii, Italy, and France with good friends. Keith enjoyed puzzles, watching movies and listening to audiobooks 

Keith and Doreen were very supportive of Jill who had several health issues, including a liver transplant. After Jill passed away in September 2016, Matthew and Sydney continued to live with them and go to school.

In 2022 Keith and Doreen moved into a retirement condominium in Varsity Estates Grove in Northwest Calgary. After Doreen passed away in December 2023, Matthew and Sydney moved into the condominium with Keith. He stayed there until late July 2025 when he was taken to Foothills Hospital with health-related issues. In August, Keith moved into Bethany Care Home.

Keith is survived by son Gregory William; wife, Inge; grandson Matthew; and granddaughters, Sydney, and Samantha. He was pre-deceased by a son; his daughter Jill Susanne; and wife Doreen Victoria.

A Memorial Mass will be held at St. Luke's Catholic Church on Tuesday April 7, 2026 at 11:00 am.

Rest in peace, Keith. We will miss you.

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