Kurt Paul Froehlich, 71, of Champaign, Illinois, passed away at 11:02 a.m. Friday, August 22, 2014, at Champaign-Urbana Nursing & Rehab, Savoy, Illinois.

A funeral Mass will be celebrated at noon on Friday, September 5, 2014, at Holy Cross Catholic Church, 405 W. Clark St., Champaign, Illinois 61820, with the Reverend Father David Sajdak officiating. Burial will be in Roselawn Cemetery, Champaign, with military rites by American Legion Post 71. Visitation will be from 10 a.m. to noon at Holy Cross Catholic Church.

Kurt was born on March 23, 1943, in Moline, Illinois. He was the son of Dr. Kurt P. and Loris J. Barrett Froehlich. He married Bonnie J. Froehlich on August 27, 1966, who died January 1, 2009.

He is survived by a son, Kevin Paul Froehlich of Phoenix, Arizona. He married Peggy Ann Sancken Smith on July 31, 2010, in Pontiac, Illinois. She survives.

Also surviving is one brother: Jeff E. Froehlich (Karen), Jackson, Michigan; one sister: Paula Bennett (Rik), Placentia, California; and many nieces, nephews and great-nieces and -nephews. He was preceded in death by his parents.

He was a member of Holy Cross Catholic Church, Champaign.

Kurt was a partner in the Champaign law firm of Evans, Froehlich, Beth & Chamley, where he concentrated his practice in public and municipal finance and local government law. Kurt was an expert on local government law, municipal finance and taxation.

He counted as friends and colleagues scores of municipal attorneys and officials from across the state and nation and served as a mentor to many.

Kurt was involved in thousands of municipal finance matters over the life of his career.

Formerly, he was with the home rule and intergovernmental cooperation project of the University of Illinois Institute of Government and Public Affairs, the City Attorney of Champaign, Illinois (1975-80), and an adjunct professor of architecture at the University of Illinois (1987-1993, primarily related to economic development/regulation). He wrote and lectured extensively on a variety of local government law and public and municipal finance topics and was a participant on numerous municipal law and public and municipal finance programs sponsored by local, state and national organizations.

A graduate of the University of Illinois B.S. (1966, chemistry), M.Ed. (1968) and J.D. (1973), Mr. Froehlich chaired the National Institute of Municipal Law Officers (now International Municipal Lawyers Association) Committee on Intergovernmental Relations and the Economic Development, Taxation and Finance Section.

He was a member of the American (member, Section on Taxation's Committee on Tax-Exempt Finance), Illinois State (former chair of the Local Government Law Section Council) and Champaign County Bar Associations, the National Association of Bond Lawyers, the Illinois Tax Increment Association (Legislative Committee) and the Home Rule Attorney's Committee of the Illinois Municipal League (1973-2014, chair 2012-2013). He received the Distinguished Service Award for Lifetime Achievement from the Illinois Institute for Local Government Law in 2005.

Mr. Froehlich was a veteran of the U.S. Army, having served on active duty with distinction for two years. Kurt loved golfing, running and Illini sports and completed the 21st Marine Corps Marathon in Washington, D.C., in 1996. Kurt was a past president of the Champaign County YMCA.

Kurt and Peggy enjoyed traveling to the east coast and to the west coast and just got back from an Alaskan cruise.

Memorials may be made to the charity of the donor's choice.

Morgan Memorial Home, Savoy is handling arrangements.