age 79
Cold Spring
September 18, 1927 – September 17, 2007
Funeral mass 11 am Saturday, September 22, 2007, at St. Boniface Church, Cold Spring, for Al Kunkel, age 79, who died Monday at his home after a battle with lung cancer, one day before his 80th birthday. Burial will be in the Holy Cross Parish Cemetery, Pearl Lake, MN.
Visitation 4-9 pm Friday at the Wenner Funeral Home in Cold Spring and one hour prior to the funeral mass Saturday morning in the Narthex of St. Boniface Church. The Cold Spring Area Maennerchor will sing at 7:30 p.m. followed by Parish Prayers at 8:00 p.m. Friday evening.
Preceded in death by his wife of 42 years, Joan (Witkowski) Kunkel, and siblings Walburga and Alvin, and grandson Matthew.
He is survived by his wife, Joyce; children Katherine (Charles) Lefebvre, John (Anne) Kunkel, Mary (Sue Erickson) Kunkel, and Karen (Jeff) Pasley; eight grandchildren, Tony, Peter, Aimee, Joe, Jenni, Brenda, Isaac, and Owen; three great-grandchildren, Ben, Ella, and Caleb; step-children, Karen (John) Grecula, Peg (Steve) Dietman, Sue Phillips, Nancy (Randy) Van Overbeke, Michael (Sue) Phillips, John (Ann) Phillips, and Mary (Gene) Van Havermaet; twelve step-grandchildren; three step-great-grandchildren; and six siblings.
Al was born in Pearl Lake on September 18, 1927, and grew up on the family farm. With his sister’s encouragement, he attended St. John’s University and later enrolled in the U of M Veterinary School. After graduating, he founded a practice in St. Michael, but he was always willing to share his knowledge with the wider world. He visited farms in the USSR and Poland, worked to establish a dairy industry in Guyana, and served a term as president of the Minnesota Veterinary Medical Association. His long-standing interest in dairy nutrition led him to develop visionary high-fiber feeding programs to increase production and improve herd health. Al enjoyed traveling, reading good books, golfing with his kids and grandkids, hunting, fishing with his wife and stepkids, and doing the New York Times crossword puzzle. A lover of music, he was a 25-year member of the Cold Spring Maennerchor. He will be sorely missed for his generous spirit, his work for the Social Justice Committee of St. Boniface Parish, his loving Christian example, and his gentle and unfailing sense of humor.
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