FAYETTEVILLE — Kurt Karl Tweraser

passed away peacefully on October 1, 2023 in Fayetteville, Ark. He was born on March 30, 1930 in Scharnstein, Austria, to Hans Hutterer and Hermine Braunesberger.

He is survived by his wife of 63 years, Gene Tweraser, his sons Felix and Ben Tweraser, his daughters-in-law Julie Johnson and Robyn Scott, and his grandchildren, Isabel Tweraser, Shannon Tweraser and Adam Tweraser.

He was preceded in death by his parents and his adoptive father, Franz Tweraser.

A self-proclaimed “Hillbilly from the Alps,” Kurt spent his early years in a small, mountain village before moving to Wels, a larger town. His scholastic talent made him a sought-after tutor and kept the bullies at bay.

When the War came to Austria in 1944, Kurt struck a deal to avoid Nazi indoctrination by joining the fire brigade, and there were a lot of fires to put out. In early 1945, Kurt was drafted into the Volkssturm (Peoples’ Army), where he was issued a bazooka and a bicycle and sent off to fight General Patton’s Third Army. Before it came to that, a Senior Officer sent them home to their mothers. When the Americans occupied his area after the War, Kurt enjoyed a brief career as a black marketeer, trading schnaps for American cigarettes, which could be used to purchase food from local farmers for his family. The GIs tried to teach him baseball with little success, but this led to a lifelong interest in the American pastime and a love-hate relationship with the St. Louis Cardinals.

Kurt trained as a bookkeeper, completing his studies at the Handelsakademie in Linz and holding various accounting jobs there and in Vienna. In 1958, he was ready for a life change. He invented a reverse Marshall Plan, whereby he would be imported into the United States. Kurt met a young American student in their local Viennese cafe, and thus began a whirlwind courtship that ended in an engagement, two years of letter writing when Gene returned to the U.S. — writing that he touted as the best he ever produced — and marriage in 1960.

Kurt immigrated to the United States in 1962 and started graduate school at American University School of International Service, where he earned a PhD. He taught at the University of Arkansas in the Department of Political Science from 1967 until 1992, when he took early retirement to begin an additional career as a historian of Upper Austria and the city of Linz, which resulted in numerous influential publications. For this work he was awarded the Distinguished Scholarly Medal by the city of Linz in 2001.

Kurt won the inaugural Hogeye Marathon in 1977 and enjoyed running, long-distance walking, bird watching, reading, watching soccer, listening to classical music and cooking. He loved the company of his grandchildren and extended family. His favorite place in the world was Balsam Bay on Lake Clear in the Adirondacks, where every summer he could enjoy these activities and the people he loved.

A memorial service will be held at a later date. Contributions may be made to Circle of Life Hospice or the Butterfield Trail Village Health Care Center. Cremation arrangements by Beard’s Funeral Chapel. Condolences at www.beardsfuneralchapel.com