Obituary of Jeanne E. Kuentzel

Jeanne E. Kuentzel, age 100, died peacefully in her sleep on Saturday, July 11, 2020, at her home at Oaknoll Retirement Residence in Iowa City. A time of visitation for family and friends will be held from 11:00 to 12:30 Wednesday, July 15, at Gloria Dei Lutheran Church in Iowa City. A private funeral service will also be held that day at 1:00 at the church. All are welcome to join the family via live stream feed at www.gloriadeilive.org. Burial will take place at the Winterset Cemetery, Winterset, Iowa at 10:00 on Friday morning, July 17. In lieu of flowers, memorial donations can be made in her memory to Gloria Dei Lutheran Church, Iowa City; St. Paul Lutheran Church, Winterset, IA; or the Oaknoll Foundation, Iowa City. To share a thought, memory or condolence with her family please visit the funeral home website at www.gayandciha.com. Jeanne Esther Nuoffer, the daughter of Ernest and Minnie (Albrecht) Nuoffer, was born May 7, 1920, in Chicago, IL. She lived her early years in Chicago until the family moved to Appleton, WI, where she graduated from High School. Following graduation, she studied music at the University of Wisconsin at Madison for two years. It was there that she met her beloved Paul. She married Paul William Kuentzel on April 9, 1941 in Berkley, CA. The couple and their family eventually ended up in Winterset, IA, in 1953 where she lived for the next fifty years. For the last 17 years of her life, she lived in Lake Mills, IA, Grand Forks, ND, and Iowa City, IA to be closer to her daughter and family. In Winterset, she was an active member of St. Paul Lutheran Church, where she served as the church organist and choir director for years. She was a member of the Madison County Quilters Club, Sunshine Gardening Club, and other organizations and groups as well. She taught piano to many students, enjoyed camping trips, traveling, listening to birds and simply living life. She was a woman of strong faith, which she sought to practice daily in her life with others. She cherished her family and was dearly loved and cherished in return. After family, she thought the greatest gift God gave the world was music. She was an avid and skilled quilter, a passion she enjoyed sharing with many. It brought her joy to bring joy to others in any way she could. She turned 100 in May, a beautiful celebration of which was witnessed by many through social media and front-page coverage in the local paper. Asked by a news reporter that day how she would describe her life, she said “Blessed.” The smile that radiated from her face that day is a smile all who knew her will remember, for they were blessed by it often. Her family includes her three children: Peter “Pete” Kuentzel and his wife, Pat Kuentzel; Dr. William “Bill” Kuentzel; and Kathryn “Kathi” Dykstra and her husband, Rev. Roger Dykstra. She is also survived by two grandchildren, of whom she was so very proud: Paul Kuentzel and his wife, Shirley, and Melissa Dykstra; two cherished great-granddaughters – Leah Jeanne Kuentzel and Jenna Lynn Kuentzel; her sister, Eunice Sears; and nephews and nieces. She also over years was loved by many who affectionately knew her as “Grandma Jeanne.” Jeanne was preceded in death by her parents, her dear husband, and a brother, William Nuoffer. “Social distancing standards will be in place and all in attendance will be required to wear a mask. If you arrive without, one will be provided to you by the funeral home. Thank you for supporting Jeanne’s family with your presence and being conscientious in doing so.”