Kurt M. Mccrady

Kurt Michael McCrady of Bellingham, WA passed away in his home on March 15th, 2023. He was born on October 17, 1954, to parents Joanne and Virgil McCrady in the small town of Ritzville, WA where he grew up with brothers Kole and Klay, sister Kiera, and many lifelong friends. It was there where Kurt met and married his wife Kathleen (Kathy) who had moved to town from Chico, CA after college for a bank job in 1977.
They moved to the western side of WA shortly thereafter, had their first and only child Maggie in 1981, and settled in their forever home in Fairhaven. Kurt was employed by the WA State liquor board for 30 years and worked in several state-run liquor stores in Bellingham.
Kurt had a passion for Blues music, especially Muddy Waters, Howlin’ Wolf, and Stevie Ray Vaughan, to name a few. He started playing harmonica as a self-taught teenager and loved joining musicians to play at local blues jams in his adult years. There was hardly a quiet moment in the house if he was home, between records playing, a new YouTube blues video on the speakers, or an old war movie on the TV. He was an avid reader and fan of anything “Beat Generation”, Jack Kerouac, Charles Bukowski, and Ken Kesey. His musical influences were everything from The Rolling Stones, The WHO, Pink Floyd, and Bruce Springsteen among many others. Kurt could tell you about current world events and show you exactly where just about any place on a world map was long before the internet and google were in every household. He was a seeker of knowledge and was interested in world politics, cultures and geography, listening to a world band radio in the early 90’s constantly simply because he thought it was amazingly cool to hear radio stations from all over the globe.
He also loved to Scuba dive. One of his favorite memories was the time he spent exploring coral reefs in his all-time favorite place, the Dutch island of Bonaire in the Caribbean, with his longtime friend Dave Wolfe. So much so that he specifically requested part of his ashes be placed there upon his death.
Summers in the Pacific Northwest often found him out on his beloved little 1984 C-Dory boat which he dubbed “The Magpie” after his daughter’s nickname. The San Juan Islands were always a favorite source of exploring, crabbing and soaking in all that this beautiful place had to offer. He taught his son in law Brady Hopkins everything he knew about boat safety, navigation, and taking care of the boat and enjoyed every minute of it. He will be remembered for his willingness to share the fun parts of life with others. Many years ago, he and Kathy planted apple trees which have come to produce quite a bounty annually. Every fall he spent countless hours picking and storing apples, setting up the cider press in the backyard and pressing apple cider by hand, giving most of it away to neighbors, friends, and family. Last summer he and Brady had an amazing day crabbing in Bellingham Bay and had already reached their limit for the day before pulling up their last pot which happened to be stuffed full to the brim with beautiful Dungeness crab. Instead of tossing them back he insisted on waving down another boat, discovering they had been out crabbing all afternoon but had nothing to take home. He was so happy to share with them and make new friends that day.
His endless stories will be missed the most. Always a master in the art of bullshitting, he could entertain anyone for hours with stories from his Ritzville days pulling crazy pranks on friends and family, to descriptions of scuba diving shipwrecks, or hitchhiking to Seattle as a young teenager.
He was preceded in death by his father Virgil and his brother Klay McCrady.
Kurt leaves behind his wife of 46 years Kathleen, his daughter Maggie, son in law Brady Hopkins, mother Joanne McCrady, brother Kole (Eva), sister Kiera (Ben) Buriak, and several nieces, nephews, and other relatives, and his corgi Figaro.
For friends and family of Kurt McCrady there will be two celebrations of life taking place in May.
Bellingham locals, we will be raising a glass to Kurt at Fairhaven Stones Throw Brewery on Wednesday May 10th starting at 5:00 pm with a toast and slide show followed by live music from Andy Koch's Badd Dog Blues Society from 6-8pm. This is an open to all, family friendly gathering where we’d love to swap stories, share photos and raise a glass for a vibrant send off in true to Kurt local live blues style. The brewery will be open to the public at this time as well, this is not a private event so come early if you want the best seats! Stones Throw Fairhaven is located at 1009 Larrabee Ave, Bellingham, WA 98225.
Ritzville friends and family, a celebration of life will take place at Emanuel Lutheran Church 206 S Division St, Ritzville, WA 99169 Saturday May 20th at 11:00 am with a lunch reception following.