James Kerney Kuser

James (Jim) Kerney Kuser, 83, of Naples, Fla., died May 20 in his home, following a five-month battle with lung cancer. Born Oct. 18, 1930, in Lawrenceville, N.J., he was the son of Mary Kerney and R. George Kuser. On Oct. 9, 1954, he married Helen Margaret Lambert, and she survives. He was preceded in death by a daughter, Bernadette Kuser, in 1961; a grandson, Alex Kuser in 2007; and a brother, R. George Kuser Jr. in 2012. He is also survived by two sons, John Kuser (and wife Betsy) of Texas, Ohio, and Jamie Kuser (and wife Kathy) of Fort Myers, Fla.; a daughter, Mary Kuser Thomas (and fiancé Mike Chilcote), of Napoleon, Ohio; seven grandchildren; four step grandchildren; two great-grandchildren and eight step great-grandchildren. In Northwest Ohio, Jim Kuser was publisher and owner of the Northwest Signal daily newspaper in Napoleon for 37 years (Feb. 1, 1966-Nov. 14, 2003), where his two sons worked alongside him. He was also editor of the newspaper from January 1976 to July 1985. Additionally, he sat on the board of directors of the Troy Daily News in Ohio from 1967 to 1998, where he served as vice president from 1967-1995 and chairman of the board from 1997-98. Prior to purchasing the Northwest Signal newspaper in 1966, his previous employment included circulation and advertising at the Courier Post in Camden, N.J.; general manager at radio station WTOA-FM in Trenton, N.J.; lighting designer at Kliegl Brothers Lighting in New York, N.Y.; and the Trenton Times in New Jersey. A U.S. Army veteran of the Korean War, Kuser was a specialist 4th class in the Army Security Agency from 1953-56. Prior to that, he was a member of the New Jersey National Guard. A long-time community servant, he was named 1986 Citizen of the Year by the Napoleon (Ohio) Chamber of Commerce, and the Napoleon Rotary Club recognized him in 1984 as its first member to be awarded the Paul Harris Fellowship. He was a member of the Chamber of Commerce from 1966 to 2000, were he served as president in 1980 and was a board member from 1978-1980. He also served as president of the Chamber’s Retail Division in 1971-72. With the Napoleon Rotary Club, he recorded 30 years of perfect attendance from 1966 to 1996. He served as club president from 1978-79 and was a director in 1972-73 and 1977-80. Kuser was part of a committee that helped form the United Way of Henry County, a group he supported with time and resources from 1983-2003. He served as chairman of its corporate and major gifts division in 1985. A devoted theatre man, Kuser was an integral component of the Maumee Valle Civic Theatre in Napoleon from 1966 to 2002. He served as its president from 1970 to 1997, producer from 1966 to 1997 and lighting designer from 1966 to 2001. From 1968 to 1970, he served as the charter president of the Henry County (Ohio) Airport Authority, a group he was part of from 1967 to 1971. Kuser was on the board of directors from 1972 to 1996 of the Henry County Chapter of the American Red Cross and served as treasurer from 1979 to 1996. In Naples, Fla., he was a member of the board of the Camelot Park Homeowners Association from 2002 until his death. Other professional and social memberships include the Trenton Country Club, Vineyards Country Club, Associated Press, United Press International, Ohio Newspaper Association, Inland Press Association, Napoleon Boosters Club, Napoleon Elks Lodge, American Legion Post #300, Napoleon AMVETS Post #1313, Naples Elks Lodge, Napoleon Area Foundation, St. Augustine Catholic Church, St. Agnes Catholic Church, Coral Beach & Tennis Club in Bermuda and many others. He earned his bachelor’s degree in 1953 from the University of Virginia, and his master’s of fine arts in 1959 from Yale University. He was a 1949 graduate of the Lawrenceville (N.J.) School. A memorial mass will be held Saturday, May 31 at 11 a.m. at St. Agnes Catholic Church in Naples, Fla. Private interment will take place at a later date in St. Paul’s Roman Catholic Church Cemetery in Princeton, N.J. Funeral arrangements are being handled by Shikany’s Funeral Home in Bonita Springs, Fla. The family suggests memorial contributions be made the Wounded Warrior Project Inc., the American Red Cross or a charity of the donor’s choice.

James Kerney Kuser

October 18, 1930 - May 20, 2014