Catharine Lenney Kunz, better known as Kate, 94, a resident of the St. George Village life care facility in Roswell, Ga., and formerly of Potsdam, passed away at Hospice Atlanta on April 11, 2011.
Kate was born in Potsdam on August 1, 1916 to the late Bernard and Irene Lenney.
Kate grew up in Potsdam and at 17 she enrolled in the Potsdam Normal School where she received her teaching degree in 1936.
Following graduation she taught for several years and in 1938 married Tom Kunz, a graduate of St. Lawrence University.
During World War II, Kate was basically a stay-at-home mom for her three children.
Following the war, she returned to teaching and at the same time earned a Masters degree at SUNY Albany. She retired at 63 having taught for 23 years in the Bethlehem Central School District System and 33 years overall.
A resident of Delmar, N.Y. for 51 years, Kate felt it was her home.
In 2006 she moved to Atlanta, Ga., to be near her daughter Kathy.
She was the primary motivational force for her children, demonstrating by her actions the value of a foundation of sound principals in life and continually stressed the importance of education.
Of necessity, she could be a tough and demanding taskmaster as well as a loving and patient mother, grandmother, and great grandmother.
She was an avid reader, loved to discuss politics, and felt that everyone should be treated equally and fairly, period.
She is survived by a son, Michael Kunz and daughter-in-law Patricia of Fairbanks, Alaska; two daughters: Alesia Kunz of Berkeley, Calif., and Kathy Jockisch of Sandy Springs, Ga., six grandchildren and four great grandchildren.
Her husband Thomas Kunz predeceased her in 1989.
Arrangements by the Cremation Society of Georgia 404-355-7627
