Sept. 17, 1920 – July 29, 2018

NATCHEZ — Services for Dr. Bruce McPherson Kuehnle, 97, who died Sunday, July 29, 2018, surrounded by his loving family at his residence, will be noon Thursday, at Trinity Episcopal Church with the Rev. M.L. Agnew and the Rev. Kenneth Ritter officiating.                                
Burial will follow at the Natchez City Cemetery under the direction of Laird Funeral Home.
Visitation will be from 10 a.m. until service time Thursday at Kuehnle Hall.
Dr. Kuehnle was born Sept. 17, 1920, in Natchez, the son of the Rev. Joseph Kuehnle and Margaret Trigg Kuehnle.
He attended Natchez public schools and was a graduate of Natchez High School. He earned his undergraduate degree from Sewanee: The University of the South. Thereafter, he enlisted in the U.S. Army Air Corps during World War II as a secondlieutenant, serving as a flight instructor and as a pilot transporting foreign dignitaries in support of the war effort.
Following World War II, he earned his medical degree from Tulane University. After completing his residency in general surgery in Shreveport, La., he returned to Natchez in 1953 to begin his medical practice.
Kuehnle was a dedicated and caring surgeon for more than 40 years. He was a board certified general surgeon, was named a Fellow in the American College of Physicians and Surgeons, and was chief of staff at Jefferson Davis Memorial Hospital. He was deeply respected and loved in the community.

A faithful communicant of Trinity Episcopal Church, Kuehnle served in a number of leadership roles including senior warden of the Vestry. He also was an avid tennis player and golfer, playing golf until the age of 94 and making a hole-in-one at the age of 88.
Kuehnle was a devoted and loving husband, father, grandfather, and great-grandfather. He was preceded in death by his parents; his beloved wife of 60 years, Julia Benoist Kuehnle; and one brother, Robert Dalby Kuehnle and wife, Helen Louise Jenkins Kuehnle.
Survivors include three children, Margaret Kuehnle Fulton and husband, the Rev. Travis Fulton, Eleanor Kuehnle Ernst and husband, Bill Ernst, and Bruce M. Kuehnle Jr., and wife, Nancy Biglane Kuehnle; four grandchildren, Ann Lee Christiansen Gray, William Ernst Jr., and wife, Christie, Mary Margaret Ernst Gilly and husband, Martin, and Julia Rachel Kuehnle; eight great-grandchildren, Julia Margaret Gray, Christian Gray, Will Ernst, Ashleigh Ernst, Bennett Gilly, Charlie Gilly, Ellie Gilly and Jack Gilly; and two nephews, Robert D. Kuehnle and Byrnes Kuehnle and wife, Marion.
Pallbearers will be Charles W. Caldwell Jr., Gerald W. Dahlander, William H. Ernst Jr., Martin L. Gilly, R. Christiansen Gray, Paul B. Guido, Lucien C. Gwin III and John E. Taylor Jr.
Honorary pallbearers will be Dr. William Godfrey, Dr. Bradley LeMay, Dr. Carl Passman, and Dr. Thomas Weed.
The family expresses their appreciation to caregivers Margaret Holmes and Rita Bailey for their compassionate service and requests that memorials be made to Trinity Episcopal Church or to a charity of choice.
Online condolences may be sent to the family at lairdfh.com.