Ray Kunkel

Raymond Jacob Kunkel, 94, died at home on Saturday, February 25 following a two month illness. He leaves his wife of 63 years, Mary Kathryn Rooney Kunkel; a son Peter,Lawrenceville; a daughter Mary Ann (Paul Kachel), Lake Oswego, Oregon; a son Paul (Yin NaiLeung), Hong Kong; a son Joseph (Ann Benefiel), Champaign, Illinois; five grandsons, Ian, Alex, Anthony, Sam, and Charlie as well as three step-grandchildren, David, Eric and Jessica. Ray was predeceased by his youngest son, John, in 1990 as well as five siblings: Irvin, Stanley, Helen, Harry and Wayne.Born and raised in Bath, Indiana, the son of Adam Peter Kunkel and Lula Kreutzer Kunkel, he resided from 1952 - 1989 in Lawrenceville and from 1989 - present in Vincennes. He attended McGuffey High School in Oxford, Ohio. Directly after graduation from high school he enlisted in the Army Air Corps at the age of 17 and served throughout WWII as a navigator. After the war he graduated from Miami University with a degree in Business. He was called back into service during the Korean Conflict and remained on active reserve in the Air Force for many years, retiring as a Major.In 1952, Ray moved to Lawrenceville as a management trainee for JC Penney and was soon recruited to join Golden Rule Life Insurance Company by M.A. Rooney where he worked until his retirement. Beginning with sales and claims settlement, and eventually became Vice President, working with Investment Management, Facilities Expansion, and Operations Management. He was a member of St. Lawrence parish in Lawreneceville until 1989 when he moved to Vincennes and joined the Old Cathedral parish.Ray held many interests including tomato gardening, travel, carpentry, daily Sudoku, and first and foremost, a passion for golf that began with the purchase of a single used club in his teen years and continued until he was nearly 90. He was very interested in human nature and infinitiely curious about almost everything which transformed every mundane errand and task into an adventure.Visitation will be held at Goodwin Funeral Home in Vincennes on Friday, March 3, from 4-7 pm. A funeral Mass will be held at the Old Cathedral in Vincennes on Saturday, March 4, at 11 am followed by interment at the Lawrenceville Cemetery. A reception will be held at the Old Cathedral Parish Hall immediately following burial. Memorial contributions may be made to Good Samaritan Hospice. Online condolences may be made at www.goodwinfamilyfh.com