Lea Kunze

Lea K. Kunze 1922 - 2014 Lea Kunze, of Kalamazoo, Michigan, died peacefully at home on December 27, 2014 at the age of 92, having suffered a stroke while in the hospital for other reasons. Three of her daughters were with her at home. She was born Leatrice Lorraine Kinney on December 28, 1922 the third of four children of parents Roy and Addie Kinney in Yakima, Washington. Her mother died when Lea was a child, so she was raised by her father, learning independence at a very young age. Lea met and married Elward E. "Bud" Kunze in 1943 while she was attending the Columbus Hospital School of Nursing in Seattle. He was in the Navy and stationed nearby at Sand Point Naval Base. Lea graduated as a Registered Nurse in 1944. During World War II she worked at hospitals in Los Angeles and volunteered at the Hollywood Canteen. Her husband was a flour milling engineer, and due to transfers and job opportunities the family moved several times. The two elder daughters were born in Chicago, the third in Minneapolis, and the fourth while the family was living in Fostoria, Ohio. They moved to Portage, MI in 1964. After they divorced in 1972, Lea moved to Kalamazoo, where she lived ever since. She went back to school and earned a Bachelor of Science in Health Sciences at Western Michigan University in 1974, and returned to work as a nurse at the Veterans Administration Hospital in Battle Creek, MI. After retirement she traveled frequently, visiting Ireland, numerous other European countries, Australia and the Galapagos Islands. At age 65 she studied anthropology at WMU. She also visited Alaska and in her 70's she began hiking portions of the Appalachian Trail. Lea was very involved in community, church and civic affairs. She became the first woman president of the Kalamazoo Civitan Club in 1982. At the age of 91 she was still tutoring in reading at an elementary school through a program of People's Church. She traveled annually to volunteer at the Jack Nicklaus Memorial Golf Tournament in Dublin, Ohio. She volunteered locally at the National Boys Tennis Championship and delivered bagels weekly from a local shop to Loaves & Fishes. For many years, photography was her hobby. Lea took photos of nature, landscapes, wildlife and the places she traveled. She wrote well, and even as a young girl her letters home were popular amongst her father's neighbors. She contributed the occasional letter to the editor and guest editorials. Her daughters' favorite writing however, were the poems she wrote, memorializing simple family events. She turned a baby's sneezing fit, while being fed peas, into funny and deliberate mischief - in rhyme. Lea was still bowling with the Dragtail Seniors, playing tennis and golfing. She kept her lifelong fondness for all kinds of pie, any flowers that were yellow, and was an avid Scrabble player, playing her last games the week she died. Lea is survived by her brother, Wendall Kinney (Betsy) of Bakersfield, CA, a sister, Gloria Williams (Tom) of Springfield, VA; daughters Kaye Caldwell (David Wyatt) of Hendersonville, NC, Lynn Kunze (Jack Adams) of Deford, MI, Carol Kunze of Napa, CA, Lori Kunze (Brian Potter) of Edmonds, WA; three grandsons, Benjamin Adams (Jennifer), Lt. Cmdr Jeremiah Adams (BethAnn), and Alex Potter and four great grandchildren, Alexander and Nicholas Adams, and Anastasia and Nolan Adams. There will be a memorial celebration of life for Lea Kunze on Saturday, January 10, 2015 at 3 pm at People's Church, 1758 N. 10th St., Kalamazoo. Memorial donations may be made to Loaves & Fishes, Open Doors Kalamazoo, or a charity of the donor's choice.