Kurt Marries, father of Tucson newscaster Dan Marries, died late Thursday in Grand Junction, Colo., after a two-year battle with skin cancer. He was 64.
Marries died surrounded by family and friends, Dan Marries said in a posting on Facebook early Friday.
"We were by his side, holding his hands with country & Western music playing in the background, just the way he wanted," Marries wrote just after 2 a.m. Friday. "His pain & suffering is over."
Dan Marries chronicled his dad's battle with cancer with nearly daily posts on Facebook last winter, when the elder Marries was being treated at Tucson's VA Hospital.
The pair was the subject of a Star feature story on July 7.
Even after his father returned home to Colorado, Marries continued updating his progress. A posting Tuesday hinted that his father had taken a turn for the worse.
"My dad really needs your prayers tonight," wrote Marries, who anchors KOLD Channel 13's 5, 6 and 10 p.m. newscasts. "I just booked a flight for tomorrow morning to go see him."
Marries returned to Colorado Wednesday morning and posted a Facebook update just before noon: "I made it. Dad opened his eye when I told him I was here. He knows."
On Friday, Marries thanked his Facebook followers for their support.
"Our family is forever grateful for your love & support. Dad loved all of you and considered his FB friends family," he wrote.
Kurt Marries was a native of San Diego, Calif., and spent his life as a helicopter pilot.
In addition to Dan, he is survived by a daughter, Misty, of California; a son, Donny, of Colorado; and a grandson, Kurt, of Phoenix.
Services will be held early next week in Colorado.
Contact reporter Cathalena E. Burch at cburch@azstarnet.com or 573-4642.
