Jimmy Kugler Author

Jimmy Kugler (1932–1969) was born and raised in Lexington, Nebraska. Part of a large German immigrant community, he attended Lexington schools and was active in football, basketball, classroom art, and wartime activities like scrap metal drives. A year after graduation he moved to Denver. Meeting Patricia Andrews, they married and moved west, first to Salt Lake City, finally to Portland, Oregon. There they raised three children: Michael, Steven, and Tamara. Jimmy worked various jobs: driving a diaper truck, in the shipping industry along Portland’s Willamette River, or in small factories. Patricia separated from Jimmy in 1968, moving with the children to Colorado. A year later she reconciled with him, and planned to return to Portland. Before leaving Patricia learned that Jimmy, who had broken his leg playing mushball, suffered a series of epileptic seizures from poor medical treatment, as well as alcohol abuse. He died in July of 1969.

Michael Kugler is professor of history at Northwestern College in Orange City, Iowa. He teaches modern European history, specializing in the Scottish Enlightenment and the history of the social sciences.