Katharine 'Tinka' Cosgriff Kurtz, after a few sips of morning tea, closed her eyes and died peacefully on the first day of Spring to conclude a life brimming with love, accomplishment and spirited fun.

The oldest of four children born to Stewart and Katharine Cosgriff, Tinka (a childhood nickname that stuck) arrived in Salt Lake City a few months before the start of the Great Depression; she passed away in her longtime Littleton home a few weeks after learning a great grandchild was on the way.

Being a non-Morman in Salt Lake City sometimes limited her social opportunities. But Tinka always remembered the night her father, a bank president, invited her to a dinner with the child acting sensation Shirley Temple, passing through town with her father. Tinka remembered the child star's order (Lamb Chops) and that she herself barely ate a bite owing to the excitement.

Upon graduation from Rowland Hall in Salt Lake, Tinka was off to Vassar in 1946. Fortuitously, her family moved back to Denver in 1948, setting the stage for her to meet James Biggs Kurtz during the summer of 1949. They would marry the next June after both graduated from college – Jim being at nearby Yale enabled Tinka to "cement the relationship." It was a union that would last until Jim's death in 2015.

Travel was a constant early in their marriage. Jim attended college through the Naval Reserve Officers Training Corps program, which required a hitch in the U.S. Navy. Daughter Katharine was born in Denver when Jim was based in San Diego, while James Biggs Kurtz Jr. was born in Charleston, S.C., during a posting there.

Following the Navy, Jim moved the family to tiny Montrose, Colorado, to work for Independent Lumber Company, which his father ran. After three years they moved to Grand Junction, where Sarah and Caroline were born. The family moved to Denver in 1961 and then to the family's longtime Littleton home in 1964.

In addition to raising a family of four with a husband often on the road for business, Tinka threw herself into a variety of pursuits in Denver, including participation in the Recording for the Blind program. She also joined the Garden Club of Denver, formalizing a lifetime love of gardening and flowers. Tinka stayed involved for more than 55 years, serving once as its President, which included a term on the Denver Botanic Gardens board.

In 1970 Tinka and her friends (Betty Taylor, Sheilagh Malo and Pamela Wulsin) decided that Denver needed a better gift shop -- and they were just the people to run that shop. One of their husbands commented "THAT sounds like a lark," which inspired the ladies to call their store "The Lark" when it opened that year on Fourth Avenue in the Country Club neighborhood.

Some lark! The store did so well that the partners bought the building in which it resided and successfully sold the business in 1990. When The Lark celebrated its 50th anniversary during COVID, Tinka enjoyed champagne with the current owners from the safety of her car. She was enormously proud of the Lark's continued success and remained friends with its owners throughout her life.

One thing never changed: Tinka's almost telepathic connection with her sisters Susan Kirk and Bridget Fisher. Daily phone calls breaking down the day's news – that which was reported by the media and that which was reported by "sources" around town – were augmented by regular lunches at Piatti, the trio's 'second kitchen.' A lunch invitation was highly treasured and a 'must attend' – lest the invitee end up as a topic of conversation.

The arrival of her grandchildren Mary, James and Joe Rassenfoss launched a joyful era that included playing games of imagination, hosting birthday parties, and attending myriad plays, school events and sports competitions. The grandkids got a 'master class' from Jim and Tinka on being a good friend and the importance of a handwritten thank-you note.

A few years ago Tinka's involvement with a grandchild went notably beyond those duties. After meeting James' new girlfriend Layne, Tinka held up her diamond engagement ring, and told him: "James, that's the one! This is yours if you put it on her finger." James and Layne were married, with that ring, in October of 2022.

Tinka was a major sports fan, living and dying with Denver's professional teams, as well as the state's college and high school programs. But she was a huge tennis fan, having attended all the major tournaments (Australian Open, French Open, Wimbledon, and U.S. Open, as well as the inaugural Laver Cup in Chicago) and bringing along family members to join the fun.

Tinka loved playing tennis so much that she got a knee replacement at age 84 that enabled her to play a few more years, if not at top speed. Her daughter Caroline remembers Tinka, post-surgery, saying that she told the ladies at her regular game at the Denver Country Club: "You better hit the ball to me, because I'm not running for anything."

She is survived by her daughters Katharine Dawson Kurtz and Caroline Kurtz Rassenfoss (Joe), both of Denver, and Sarah Cosgriff Kurtz of Oakland; and her grandchildren, Mary Dawson Rassenfoss, Oakland, and James Kurtz Rassenfoss (Layne) and Joseph Allen Rassenfoss, both of Denver. Tinka was preceded in death by her husband, James Biggs Kurtz, and son James Biggs Kurtz Jr.

A celebration of her life ("I would want there to be cocktails served," Tinka instructed) is being planned for when temperatures warm and the flowers bloom. Until then, raise a glass to a life well lived and a person we'll all miss.

Donations in Tinka's honor may be made to the Denver Botanic Gardens and Humane Colorado (formerly the Dumb Friends League).