Jan Louise Wurtz Agosta

Oct. 11, 1953-Dec. 12, 2021

Jan Louise Wurtz Agosta was a retired nurse and five year resident of Homer, AK. She died unexpectedly on Dec. 12, 2021 at the age of 68 at South Peninsula Hospital.

Jan is survived by her daughter Angela (Wesley) Head (nee Agosta) and grandchildren William James, Wesley Townsend, and Isabel Mae Head of Homer, AK; her sister Phyllis Ann Herston of Fort Worth, Texas; her brother John Paul Wurtz of Hazlet, Texas; and her cousin Linda Barrett of Fort Worth, Texas. She is preceded in death by her son Lucas Agosta and her parents, John Paul Wurtz Sr. and Doris Zinn Wurtz (Smith).

Jan was born on Oct. 11, 1953 in Fort Worth, Texas. She was voted as one of the “Friendliest Seniors” of her graduating class at Paschal Highschool — a distinction that remained with her to the end of her life. Jan attended nursing school at University of Texas Austin and graduated with her bachelor of science in nursing in 1979. Shortly after she married Joseph Agosta and moved to Arizona, where they began a life in Tucson, Arizona. Their two children were born there — Angie in 1980 and Luke in 1983. Some of the happiest years of Jan’s life were spent when they moved to Prescott, Arizona in 1987. Jan was involved with her children’s elementary PTA at Miller Valley Elementary and also the Prescott Unitarian Universalist Fellowship. She continued her nursing career at Yavapai Regional Medical Center and Yavapai Department of Public Health, where she was instrumental in some of the first public health information campaigns about HIV/AIDS. Jan was a gifted and compassionate caretaker and particularly loved her nursing assignments in pediatrics and hospice.

In 2003, Jan moved back to Texas and reconnected with old and new friends — starting in Austin, then relocating to Irving to be close to her aging parents. She finally settled in Kerrville, Texas for nine years and retired from nursing. In 2017 she moved to Homer, Alaska to be near her daughter and new grandson. She found a wonderful group of women who shared her passions for social justice, and began to spend time painting rocks and enjoying the natural beauty of Alaska.

Everywhere Jan went she delighted people with her enormous smile, infectious laughter, and big heart. She was a doting grandmother, and “Neena” will be sorely missed.

If you feel led to make a donation in her honor to one of the organizations that Jan loved, please consider The Alzheimer’s Association (https://www.alz.org/), The Arthritis Foundation 9https://www.arthritis.org/), or The League of Women Voters (https://www.lwv.org/).