Conrad Joseph Kunkel was the son of Ben and Caroline (Lang) Kunkel and was born July 21, 1931, and was raised on a farm south of St. Benedict. He attended St. Benedict Catholic School through the 11th grade. In his younger years he was an altar boy for daily Masses. He worked hard on the farm, milking cows, working the fields, failing hay and all the fun things that go along with farming.
On Nov. 25, 1958, he married the love of his life, Rosella Faber of Burt. She was the daughter of Melvin and Florence (Behrends) Faber. They were married at St. John’s Catholic Church in Bancroft.
Conrad worked for Lorenz and Julia Bormann as a hired hand after they got married. He also worked for Albert Becker Construction and Snap-on while living by St. Joseph. Later, they moved their family to the Burt area and drove the Standard Oil truck then continued to drive after moving to Bancroft. He then worked for Moorman Feed and Winnebago Industries. Conrad then worked as a custodian at St John’s School and Parish until 1989 when the school closed, then working for North Kossuth School until his retirement.
Following his retirement, Conrad spent a lot of his time in a boat fishing with his buddies. He drowned a lot of worms but enjoyed it dearly. Conrad and Rosella continued to live in Bancroft with their family. Until sickness caused them to move to the Titonka Care Center. On Aug. 1, 2019, Rosella lost her fight to dementia. Conrad continued to live with his children and then returned to the Titonka Care Center. He died there Saturday, Sept. 23 at the age of 92.
He is survived by his seven children, Bernard (Angel) Kunkel of Dallas, Texas, Lisa Kunkel of Bancroft, Norman (Larry) Kunkel of Ft. Lauderdale, Fla., Theresa (Stephen) Patterson of Dallas, Texas, Julie (Larry) Stallard of Martinsburg, W.V., Peggy (Greg) Atherton of Ocheyedan and Kira (Denny) Carroll of Lu Verne; 13 grandchildren, Quade (Katelyn) Burch, Sasha, Alexa and Josh Garter, Paul (Emily) Patterson, Gavin Patterson, Tyler (Mike) Kunkel, Alexis, Gannon and Garrett Atherton, and Colton, Chantal and Cailey Carroll; three great-grandchildren, Beau, Luke and Addison Burch; and Ben and Joel Vaske, who he and Rosella cared for and considered family. He is also survived by his sister, Edna Ziemet of Algona; brother-in-law and sisters-in-law, Jo Weatherly of Algona, Nancy Kunkel of Stockholm, Calif., Cindy (Mike) Mulroney of Fort Dodge, Gloria Ellwanger of San Antoinio, Texas, Melvin (Lucille) Faber of Burt and Kathleen Lowe of Hayfield, Minn.; and many nieces, nephews and other family members.
He was preceded in death by his parents; his wife Rosella; seven brothers, George (Evelyn), James, Virgil (Ruth), Bernard (Elsie), Omer (Margaret), Clarence and Robert Kunkel; his sisters, Veronica (Kenny) Spangler, Kathleen (William) Becker, Ileene (Tony) Ptacek, Rita (Gerald) Frankl, Jean Marie Kunkel and Rose Marie (Ed) Schiltz; and two brothers-in-law, Don Lowe and Jim Ellwanger.
A funeral Mass will be held Wednesday, Oct. 4, 2023, at 10:30 a.m. at Divine Mercy Parish - St. John the Baptist Catholic Church in Bancroft. Visitation will be from 5 to 7 p.m. Tuesday, Oct. 3 at Oakcrest Funeral Services of Bancroft. Burial will be in St. John’s Catholic Cemetery in Bancroft. Online condolences may be left to www.oakcrestfuneralservices.com.