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Peter Noble- Kuchera passed away early Monday, June 8, in Bloomington. He is survived by his two sons, Benjamin and Sekou and their mother, Jenny Noble-Kuchera of Bloomington; parents Dennis James (Jim) and Nancy (Nikki) Kuchera of Columbus, IN; brother Ben Kuchera and his wife Sara; grandparents Gladys and Jim Kuchera, and Carol Rae; and many friends and colleagues. A long time resident of Bloomington, Peter grew up in Columbus, IN and South St. Paul, MN.
Peter was a producer at WTIU and was nominated for a 2007 Regional Emmy Award for his work there. He was best known and loved for his movie reviews on WFIU and in The Herald Times. Peter was deeply passionate about movies. His unique talent was combining a thoughtful analysis of a particular film with a discussion about how it fit into a larger historical, artistic or social context. The great appeal of his writing was the result of his deft combination of knowledge, wit and humor.
Peter was a loving, enthusiastic and devoted father. He was a highly intelligent and artistic man with a keen sense of humor and a delightfully infectious laugh. He will be deeply missed by all who knew him.
A public celebration of Peter’s life will be held on Thursday, June 11, at 3:00 PM at the Unitarian Universalist Church at 2120 Fee Lane in Bloomington. The service will be followed by a reception in the church fellowship hall. In lieu of flowers, donations may be made to The Education Trust Fund for Benjamin and Sekou Noble-Kuchera, in care of Day Funeral Home, 4150 East 3rd Street, Bloomington, IN 47401.
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Zebrina Topness (Ivascu)
Peter was brilliant, entertaining and warm hearted. However, with brilliance, sometimes, comes demons too and Peter fought those until at last he couldn't anymore. He will be missed for all the beauty and humor he brought into this world.Lisa Biehn (Seguin)
Here is another artcile, sent to me by Denise Gardiner - published in the Herald Journal:Peter Noble-Kuchera remembered for film reviews, TV productions
By Donita Hadley
331-4339 | dhadley@heraldt.com
6/8/2009
Peter Noble-Kuchera, film reviewer for WFIU-Radio and The Herald-Times, died today in Bloomington. He was 38.
A student of film for four years at the University of Minnesota with experience in film production, Noble-Kuchera brought a vast knowledge of film to his
work as a reviewer.
"What I enjoyed the most (about his reviews) was his ability to go into comparative reviewing, see the similarities in films, and put a lot of it into
historical context," said Christina Kuzmych, WFIU station manager. "He had an insight into film that was rare."
For some five years now, local audiences have listened to Noble-Kuchera's reviews and enjoyed his craft as a writer, a wordsmith as Kuzmych called him, who crafted his observations about movies into material that not only entertained, but informed listeners and readers.
His work was not only read in The Herald-Times, but he was gaining a national radio audience as his reviews were broadcast via other public radio stations across the country. "He had a national following and was really beginning to build on that," Kuzmych said.
For his work in reviewing, Noble-Kuchera won a second place award for best radio critic presented by the Los Angeles Press Club at its first annual national entertainment journalism awards in 2008.
Some readers and listeners may not be aware that Noble-Kuchera was also employed by WTIU-TV, where, since 2006, he was a membership producer in charge of writing and producing the membership drive for the station, said manager Phil Meyer. He was nominated for a 2007 regional
Emmy Award for his work in public television.
Both Meyer and Kuzmych spoke of the loss felt due to Noble-Kuchera sudden passing. "We will miss his reativity, his sense of humor and most of all
his friendship," said Meyer in a written statement.
A celebration of Noble-Kuchera's life will be 3 p.m. Thursday at the Unitarian Universalist Church in Bloomington.
He and Jenny Noble-Kuchera have two sons, Benjamin and Sekou. He is also survived by his parents, Dennis James and Nancy Kuchera of Columbus, where he grew up.
Read Noble-Kuchera's movie reviews over the years at The Glowing Screen .
John Jablonski
I finally reconnected with Pete a week ago after 20 years of going our seperate ways.
Not realizing what he was going through, I laid out some problems that I was having and we had several deep emails where we talked some things out.
I am grieving over losing Pete after I had just foun him again. But, I will always remember him for how he was so willing to help.
I wish I knew how much he was hurting. I wish it hadn't taken 20 years to reconnect.
I really wish his 2 sons did not have this pain to deal with.
I will always remember Pete for his wit, his humor, and his huge heart.
I miss him.
Lisa Biehn (Seguin)
I have so many crazy memories of you, I don't even know where to begin.Playing Trivial Pursuit with you, Johnny, and Marc, and getting my ASS kicked.
Odessa exchange program - those damn red white and blue uniforms, the slumber parties, the Helsinki song you wrote and sang with Matt and Steve, a thousand card games on the long train ride to Odessa, racing up the Potyomkin steps, and getting in trouble for not being "ambassadors of our nation."
Dancing in the street after the Billy Joel concert.
The many phases of your hair.
Loving my friend Tasha.
All the emails we exchanged over the past few months.
Your random facebook updates that I rarely understood, but still caused me to think about you every day for the past several months.
Peter - I am glad we reconnected recently - even if it was only virtually. I wish like crazy I could see you in September.
Peace.
Matthew Wallace
I can't believe it. I was just reading his webpage recently, sent him a note but never heard back (that was over a month ago). Always thought Pete was a great guy through high school and I was looking forward to seeing him at the reunion. This is really sad.Brent Voigt
Godspeed Mr. Kuchera.Although we didn't stay in close contact my world is a little emptier place.
Ryan Thole
Wow this is so sad. I just lost my sister in law last week also and now this. He will be will be truely missed.Peter was a good person.
Andrew Kasel
Peter Kuchera was the friend who made me understand that it was OK to be smart, or at least not an idiot. This was a revelatory, and exceptionally important, moment in my life.He’s the friend who loaned me Shannara books and Adams and Vonnegut and King and more, rekindling the childhood love of reading in my teen self that I’d lost somewhere in those hazy junior high years.
He’s the friend who dubbed Graceland to cassette for me, which I still, if pressed, label my second favorite album of all time (It slides in behind Blood on the Tracks … I think Pete’d approve. Hell, I think Paul Simon would approve.).
He’s the friend who cracked me up:
Sitting in Russian Class, Mr. Emkovik lecturing away about the verb for “to go” and how there is one verb for going by vehicle and another for going on foot.
“You don’t go by foot in your car, now do you, please?!” stated Mr. Emkovik.
From behind me a soft, smiling voice. “Fred Flintstone does.”
I laughed and got in trouble for that one.
He’s the friend who I made the movie “Taman” with for Russian Class. I have a videotape of it, downstairs somewhere. My doofy acting and crazy costumes. His broad voice narration. Must go digging. Must go digging soon.
He’s the friend who I “worked” with, along with Pavlak, writing columns for an Internet magazine in the very early days of things like Internet magazines. It folded, but was good while it lasted.
He’s the friend who I kept sporadic touch with in the college years, and thereafter. Eventually we fell out of each other’s world. Our last conversation by phone involved a discussion of the movie “The Truman Show.” I’m not jumping to imdb to see how long ago that was. I don’t want to know.
He’s the friend who I got my movie reviews from the past few years. I checked in every week and read or, better yet, listened to him.
He’s the friend who I so looked forward to reconnecting with. Facebook. The reunion. It was coming together and I would reach out soon. I had his e-mail addy. I had time, is what I thought. Wrongly. Sadly, sadly wrongly.
And now I must have faith that my friend found the peace that he never did here, and that I will meet him elsewhere, elsehow.
So long, Pete.
Joseph Conlon
I was so happy to read his profile last month and see he was planning on coming to the reunion. As I read it I could just picture him saying all those things.We didn't keep in touch after high school, but he was a good friend at SSP High. All the memories of him and his Atari 600 Computer (not just the game connected to the TV), the events he invited me to at his fathers church, the trips up to my parents lake cabin in Wisconsin, the Friday Night Horror movies with the gang and much more.
We were both fans of the Science Fiction show Doctor Who, one time we went to a convention in St. Paul for the show. We stud in the autograph line for well over an hour and then I had to leave the line for the costume contest and missed my autograph chance. To my surprise, Pete had the actor sign a book "To Joe" because he knew the autograph would mean more to me than to him.
I will dig out my old photos and videos for his family to have a window into his past, the time of Pete's life that touched so many of us in SSP.
David Berry
By sheer force of personality Peter was always able to make ordinary times into something fun and memorable.If you sat with Peter at lunch he didn't just eat, he had everyone around him rolling with laughter over his MacGyver ideas to use the “sporks” for hunting, emergency survival, small appliance repair, wooing of women, breaking and entering, taming of animals, surgery, espionage, or anything besides just as shovels for the sludge that was passed off as food on those cafeteria trays.
If you went to Russian class with him you didn't just have to watch Dr. Zhivago. Peter would be whistling that piercing soundtrack perfectly at odd, and inappropriate intervals, just to spice the movie up. If you paid attention after the bell rang he even whistled that track well enough to prompt an increasingly frustrated Mr. Emkovik to double and triple check that he hadn't left the movie playing.
If it was the last day of school he didn't just say good-bye. He would ask for the lock from your locker, toss it on the floor, and start destroying it with an arc welder he had built that year in electronics class. Sparks would fly all over the school floor panicking nearby teachers into worrying about the school burning down.
The stories I remember seem to go on and on, and I am sad to hear that they now have an end. His passing is a real loss.
Goodbye again Peter.