Conrad G. Kurth Jr. of Road to the Plains in Edgartown died peacefully with family members beside him at Brigham and Women’s Hospital on April 28. He was 80.

He was born on Nov. 18, 1941 in Brooklyn, N.Y. and attended P.S. 22 in Queens before his family moved to the Island in the mid-1950s. Despite being in a near-death car accident in 1958, he was a member of the last graduating class from Tisbury High School in 1959. Although he moved to the Vineyard when he was a teenager, he remained a diehard fan of New York sports teams until the end.

After high school he enlisted in the army in 1962 and was honorably discharged in 1964. He was later a longtime member of the Vineyard Honor Guard.

On June 1, 1973, he married Sara McLane in Wareham and they were together for more than 49 years. He worked for 37 years at the Edgartown School, where his smile and persistently positive attitude made him beloved by both the students and his colleagues. He was also a former cemetery commissioner in Edgartown, a former commander of American Legion Post 257 in Vineyard Haven and a former commander and member of American Legion Post 186 in Edgartown.

In addition to his wife Sara, he is also survived by his son Adam and his wife Ashley; his loving grandchildren Evan and Hannah; his brothers and sisters Pamela Zimmer and her husband Tom, Gary Kurth and his wife Beth, Greg Kurth, Deborah Searle and Alex, Arlene Kurth and Elizabeth, Wendy Winner and Ron, and Wayne Kurth and Gigi; his sisters in laws Anne Kurth and Linda Andrews; his brother and sister in law in the McLane family; and many nieces and nephews and other family members.

He was predeceased by his father Conrad G. Kurth, mother Georgiana Kurth, brothers Jeffrey, Mark and David, his father and mother in law Robert and Mary McLane, and other family members.

He was interred in a graveside ceremony with military honors at the New Westside Cemetery in Edgartown on May 6. A reception celebrating his life was held afterwards at the Wharf Restaurant in Edgartown.

Memorial donations can be made to a charity of choice.

For online guestbook and more information, please visit chapmanfuneral.com.