Elsie Agnes Kunkel, age 91, of Britt died September 12, 2018 at Kanawha
Community Home after a courageous battle with Alzheimer's. A Mass of Christian
Burial will be held on Tuesday, September 18, 2018 at 10:30 AM at St. Patrick's
Catholic Church, 139 3rd Street South East in Britt with Fr. Paul Lippstock
officiating. Burial will be at St. Benedict. Visitation will be held on Monday,
September 17, 2018 from 4:00 – 7:00 PM with a Scriptural Wake Service beginning
at 4:00 at Ewing Funeral Chapel, 178 Center Street West in Britt. Visitation
will continue one hour prior to services at the church on Tuesday.
Elsie Kunkel, daughter of Henry and Lona (Illg) Zeimet, was born June 5, 1927 in
St. Joseph, Iowa. The family lived on a farm near Bancroft. Elsie attended
Catholic school in Bancroft, worked on the family farm, and cared for her four
brothers with Muscular Dystrophy.
On February 16, 1949, Elsie was united in marriage to Bernard Kunkel at the
Catholic Church in Bancroft, Iowa. The couple farmed near Clarion, Iowa until
1957 when they moved to the family farm in Wesley. They farmed until 1979 and
later moved to Britt.
Elsie and Bernard managed the Hillside Country Club in Wesley for almost a
decade. After moving to Britt, Elsie worked as a dietary services head cook at
the Hancock County Memorial Hospital. She also provided professional sewing and
alterations for several years.
She was a member at St. Patrick's Catholic Church in Britt, a member of the
Catholic Daughters of America, and a member of the American Legion Auxiliary.
She enjoyed gardening, playing cards, golfing, bowling, cooking, sewing, and
spending time laughing with grandchildren, great-grandchildren and her
great-great-grandson.
Elsie is survived by seven children: Duane (Vicky) Kunkel of Wichita, Kansas,
Larry (Jan) Kunkel of Crystal Lake, Dan Kunkel of Garner, Carol (Doug) DeGroote
of Corwith, Daryl of Chandler, Arizona, Roxanne (Paul) Studer of Corwith and
Allen (Karen) Kunkel of Springfield, Missouri; twenty-one grandchildren:
Phillip, Brandy, Sabrina, Jamie (Sam), Heather, Ashley (Ben), Nick (Katie),
Nathan (Teresa), Brent (Beth), Bethany (Mark), Benjamin, Kara (Jarom), Kody,
Kate (Matt), Kristen (Tim), Jenny (Micah), Megen, Derek, Logan, Braden, and
Eden; thirty great-grandchildren; one great-great-grandchild; three sisters: Jo
(Sam) Weatherly, Glady Thill, and Marge (Roland) Kinseth; sisters-in-law Edna
Zeimet, Rose Marie Schiltz, Evelyn Kunkel, Margaret Kunkel and Nancy Kunkel; and
brother-in-law Conrad (Rosella) Kunkel; along with numerous nieces, nephews and
other family members and friends.
She was preceded in death by her parents Henry and Lona Zeimet, her husband
Bernard Kunkel, sister Gertie Diers, brothers Earnest, Julius, Eugene, Leo and
Art Zeimet, seven sisters-in-law, and fourteen brothers-in-law.