Nadine Kuhns finally drove her big green Plymouth Fury station wagon (vanity plate “NK” acquired at a time when most Okaloosa County license plates still started with the “43” county identifier) into the sunset during the early hours of July 8th after a period of declining health.  Nadine’s patient and dedicated team of home health care providers, Sinciera Smith, Michelle Baker and Eloise Grays, made her final months comfortable and tranquil and her family can never thank these wonderful women enough for their tenderness, their professionalism, their smiles and laughter.  Nadine’s daughter Laura and son-in-law David have been a constant and comforting presence orchestrating her household and her care and handling all of the details that needed handling with a never-flagging spirit of devotion and good cheer.  Her daughter Monica and son-in-law Jim were never far from the action, making countless trips from their home in Tallahassee to pitch in whenever needed.

Nadine was born in 1937 to Edna and William Frett.  William was a Chicago steel mill foreman and Edna worked at the mill as a secretary.  Nadine, her sister Jean and her brother Bill were raised on the south side of Chicago (55th & Kedzie), by her grandmother Emma following their Father’s untimely death when Nadine was only 5.  She graduated from Webster College in St. Louis and went on to start and then subsequently leave a promising career at Time Life Books in Chicago to get married and raise a family.  She was uprooted from the Midwest to Northwest Florida in 1971 when her now dearly departed husband of nearly 60 years, Pete, was transferred to Eglin AFB.  It was not an easy transition for the Windy City Blackhawks fan (Dayton had been hard enough).  In later years, she bonded closely with her daughter-in-law, Irma Arreola (who grew up in the same Chicago neighborhood), over their southside Chicago traditions and Catholic school upbringing. Even so, eventually, she was thoroughly won over by the beautiful weather (hurricanes notwithstanding), by the easy-going and welcoming southern culture and most of all by the coterie of dear friends at church and in the community accumulated over the years, eventually fancying herself an Emerald Coast “native” and so when it came time for Pete to retire, she would not even contemplate living anywhere else.  So, while it may be true that you can never take Chicago out of the girl, Fort Walton Beach came pretty close – “How’s by you” evolving to “How y’all doing” without a backward glance.

Nadine was a voracious reader, an inveterate talker, a proud Grandma and a lead-footed driver (neighborhood kids admitted, years later, their terror when riding with her).  She would generally not turn down that offer of a second glass of red wine (or Scotch for that matter).  She was always ready with an opinion, a story, a sassy phrase (“Do that kid, and you’ll be counting your teeth in your hand”), or a hug and displayed an eagerness to volunteer her time and effort wherever needed.  Despite an oft-repeated “Next time, I’m having puppies!”, she was a devoted Mother and fervently stressed the importance of education, courtesy and “taking a little interest in your fellow human beings, buster!”  She served, for several years, as the “church lady” at St. Peter’s Church in Mary Esther, of which she was a faithful founding member. 

Nadine is survived by her children, Laura O’Brien (David), Lisa Kuhns (Irma Arreola), Monica Oskowis (Jim) and John Kuhns (Jeanette), and numerous grandchildren, great grandchildren, nieces and nephews. In lieu of flowers, please consider a donation to Sharing & Caring of Okaloosa County or the Epilepsy Foundation of America.

A Memorial Mass will be held Saturday, July 16, 2022 at 2:00 PM at St. Peter Catholic Church, 100 Francis Street, Mary Esther, FL 32569. 

Expressions of love and sympathy may be placed and viewed at www.emeraldcoastfuneralhome.com