She broke the code and the mold

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CORRECTION

Shah Mohammad Reza Pahlavi of Iran was misidentified in the Life Stories article and a photo caption in Thursday's Life, etc. section.

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Ann White Kurtz was a senior majoring in German and French literature at the exclusive Wellesley College in 1942 when she was plucked from class and spirited away to do top-secret work for the U.S. government's war effort. Her knack for languages and a penchant for solving puzzles made her an ideal candidate for the Navy's newly formed WAVES - Women Accepted for Volunteer Emergency Service.

In short order, she was one of a select group of American and British decoders working to intercept and read messages sent by German Nazis. It was the beginning of a lifetime of adventure sprinkled with years of foreign service.

Kurtz, professor emeritus at Meredith College, died May 24 in Florida, where she had lived for three years. She was 88.

"She was a career woman before there were career women," said her daughter, Gretchen Robens of Valrico, Fla. "People always say she led the most fascinating, interesting life."

Kurtz wrote about her class ified work in the Navy working on encrypted communications in a first-hand account. "At that time we were not aware of how few we were, nor why we were selected for this secret work. ... On reporting for duty as an officer, I was welcomed, and then told that if a leak were traced to me, I would be shot."

Jenny Skinner of Raleigh got an up-close look at her friend's past when the women traveled to England several years ago. "We went to Bletchley, where British intelligence worked on the Enigma machine to break the code," Skinner said. "It was fascinating."

Decoding the Enigma

The Enigma machine was developed in Germany after World War I and was used by the German military for secure wireless communications during WWII.

Kurtz and her fellow code breakers are credited with hastening the Allies' defeat of Nazi Germany and saving countless lives. It remains one of history's most successful intelligence operations.

"When people there found out she had worked on the Enigma," Skinner said, "they came out of the woodwork to meet her. She was an instant celebrity."

Career-minded

Kurtz married a Navy man and continued to pursue academics and be involved in foreign affairs, moving frequently for the sake of her husband's career.

She received a doctorate in modern languages at the University of Maryland while her two children were young.

"She was not the most maternal person," Robens said. "Yet she was the most committed grandmother."

Kurtz took full advantage of her linguistic abilities and offered her skills at universities wherever the family lived. When her husband joined the embassy staff in Tokyo as the naval attaché, she taught English at the Tokyo English Center. She used the time to write a book for prospective English teachers. "America at a Glance" is still in use today.

"She always had her hand in the education of somebody," Robens said. "She was a great asset to my father in his diplomatic service. It was easy for her to pick up Japanese and very difficult for him."

The couple divorced in 1974, but by then her children were on their own, and Kurtz was free to entertain her options.

An adventure in Iran

Dazzled by the idea of a new culture, she accepted an invitation to teach at a women's college in Iran. As an associate professor of French and world classics at Damavand College in Tehran, she immersed herself in her students' lives. "She saw it as a great way to energize young women," Robens said. "Wherever she went, she was a great mentor for young students, especially foreign students." Kurtz was introduced to Reza Shah Pahlavi just before the Islamic revolution and was on one of the last commercial flights out of the country before Ayatollah Khomeini seized power, her daughter said. "She had to leave without some of her rugs."

Upon her return to the States, Kurtz was hired to head the foreign language department at Meredith College in Raleigh. Her experiences in Iran during a historic period in that country made her a sought-after speaker.

"Her heart was in North Carolina because she chose to live there," Robens said. "She was not on assignment. She loved it there."

When Kurtz spoke ...

In Raleigh, Kurtz was active at Christ Episcopal Church, where Skinner first met her. Kurtz was the devotion chairwoman for a women's group, Skinner said. "We never knew what she was going to talk about," she says. "I couldn't have asked for a better friend."

Never content to rest on her laurels, Kurtz volunteered for the Peace Corps after retiring from Meredith. For several years, she taught in what was then Czechoslovakia.

"People are what made her world go round," Robens said.

At the end of her life, Robens said, her mother was peaceful and prayerful. "I was glad I was able to be with her."

Kurtz is survived by her daughter, Gretchen Robens and her husband, Robert, of Valrico, Fla. Her son, Larry Kurtz, died in 2007. She is also survived by nine grandchildren.