Member Biography

Robert James Kusse 

Member
Sessions Office Position District Party
1977       25 Republican
1978       25 Republican
1979       25 Republican
1980       25 Republican
1981       25 Republican
1982       25 Republican
1983       25 Republican
1984       25 Republican

Biography

03/19/1918 - 02/08/2008


Robert James Kusse (R25) Crawford (Part), Elk, Forest, McKean, Potter, Venango and Warren Counties 1977-1982 (R25) Clarion (Part), Erie (Part), Elk, Forest, McKean, Potter, Tioga and Venango (Part) Counties 1983-1984

Early Life:

Robert James Kusse, born March 19, 1918, Rochester, Monroe County, New York; son of John Kusse and Anna Henderson Kusse; Webster High School, Webster New York, 1935; University of Rochester; University of Buffalo; Eastman Kodak, Rochester, New York; flight trainer, United States Military; test pilot and chief pilot; moved, Warren, Pennsylvania, 1964; businessman; owner, Bob Kusse Pontiac Cadillac, Warren, Pennsylvania, 1964; married, Geraldine Moore Kusse, 1941 (d.1997), children, Karen Posey, Patricia Kusse, Jacqueline Kusse, Jennifer Kusse; married, Mary Lourdes Sherman Scranton Kusse, 1998; elected, Warren township supervisor, 1966; unsuccessful campaign, Pennsylvania State House of Representatives, 1967, 1968; elected, Republican, Pennsylvania State House of Representatives 1973-1977; appointed, Select Committee to Investigate the State Water Plan, 1974; resigned, June 7, 1977; elected, Republican, Pennsylvania State Senate, 1977-1984; moved, Port Saint Lucie, Saint Lucie County, Florida, 1989-1997; moved, Okemos, Ingham County, Michigan; died, February 8, 2008 (aged 89) Okemos, Ingham County, Michigan; burial details unknown.

Professional titles; business ownership; board memberships; local government; club memberships:

Member, Warren Higher Education Incorporated; director, Kinzua Dam Vacation Bureau; advisory board member, University of Pittsburgh-Bradford; advisory committee member, Warren Vo-Tech.

Pennsylvania Politics:

Elected, Warren township supervisor, 1966. 

Unsuccessful campaign, Pennsylvania State House of Representatives, 1967.

Unsuccessful campaign, Pennsylvania State House of Representatives, 1968. 

Elected, Republican, Pennsylvania State House of Representatives, 1973-1977; appointed, Select Committee to Investigate the State Water Plan, 1974; resigned, June 7, 1977. 

Elected, Republican, Pennsylvania State Senate, 25th district, Crawford (Part), Elk, Forest, McKean, Potter and Venango, Warren Counties, 1977-1982; vacancy, death, plane crash, Senator Richard Frame, 1977; Republican, Pennsylvania State Senate, 25th district, Clarion (Part), Erie (Part), Elk, Forest, McKean, Potter, Tioga and Venango (Part) Counties, 1983-1984; appointed, Joint Legislative Air and Water Pollution Control and Conservation Committee, 1981-1984.

Pennsylvania House of Representatives Biography:

Official Website - PA House Archives Official Website (state.pa.us)

Cited: 

Cox, Harold. "Senate Members K"Wilkes University Election Statistics Project. Wilkes University.

Stuart News (Stuart, Florida) Saturday, May 10, 1997.

Lansing State Journal (Lansing, Michigan) Saturday, February 09, 2008, page 5.

Robert James Kusse (1918-2008) - Find a Grave Memorial