A portion of his ashes will be taken to St. While he was in remission, he went to the Cape with Eric, gorging on whole belly clams, biking, and dreaming of having a house there. Growing up, Kurt spent part of each summer on Cape Cod and always loved its ambiance. He met his soulmate Sally in the Ace Hardware store at the Princeton Shopping Center on June 10, 2012, where they struck up a conversation about building and painting birdhouses. He never fell into any set pattern, using a multitude of techniques to produce stunning works. Kurt was entirely self-taught, never having an art lesson or ever painting in the style of anyone else. He was a prolific abstract painter, producing hundreds of pieces. A memorial bench for him will be placed in the woods. He put in countless hours, even while on chemo, in Herrontown Woods, moving huge rocks by himself to improve the trails. He was a relentless warrior against invasive species. In 2013, along with his wife, he was awarded a Sustainable Princeton Leadership Award. He became a vegetarian in his teens, recycled everything, and rode his bike whenever possible up until his last few months. Kurt cared deeply about his role as a shepherd of the Earth. In his last performance shortly before his death, he gave a stirring rendition of Frank Sinatra’s “Summer Winds” at a friend’s party. He had an encyclopedic knowledge of 20th century American music, listening to thousands of hours (regardless of genre) while working at the Princeton Record Exchange for decades. They played locally and put out several CDs, including “Endless Mindless Violence” and “I Hate People, No Exceptions.” He also performed solo in town, using a guitar style that was all his own. In 1994 Kurt put together a band called Duf Davis and the Book Club, with Chris Breetveld and Tim Korzun (“Duf Davis” came from family names on his mother’s side). He never took a lesson, wrote all his own music, and never wanted to sound like anyone else. He loved music his entire life and started playing guitar as a young teenager on an acoustic 12-string guitar. He was massively creative and massively talented. He never stopped learning and growing intellectually. He had a devastating and unmatched sense of humor. He was intensely analytical, he was a voracious and indiscriminate reader, and could discuss virtually any topic at a scholar’s level. Kurt was a tour de force to anyone who knew him. He was born in Boston, MA, on October 27, 1958. He was with his loving wife Sally and his brothers Eric and John as he passed. Kurt Henry Tazelaar, aged 64 and a lifelong Princeton resident, passed away peacefully at Princeton Hospital on Augafter a courageous four-year battle with pancreatic cancer.
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