Shirley Kunzman Obituary

Shirley Rae (Owens) Kunzman, 89, of Douds, Iowa, passed away on July 25, 2025, at Prestige Care Center in Fairfield, Iowa. She was born January 20, 1936, to Glenn J. and Greta D. Owens in Washington, Iowa. She was raised in various towns in and around Washington County, graduating from Winfield High School in 1953. She married Charley B. Kunzman on September 3, 1954, in Winfield. Charley and Shirley raised three girls on their farm near Selma, Iowa.
Shirley attended Parsons College in Fairfield and became an elementary school teacher, teaching in Lowden, Douds, and Libertyville until her retirement in 1998. In addition to teaching, she was an active member and musician at Christ United Methodist Church in Douds. In retirement, she often represented the congregation at the Iowa Methodist Conference and served in leadership at the state level of United Methodist Women. She was a member of Delta Kappa Gamma, the Iowa Reading Association, and Eastern Star. She spent many hours gathering, cutting squares of fabric, and putting together quilts and comforters, both for family and to donate for other charitable causes.
Shirley and Charley were well-traveled during their 65 years of marriage, touring through most of the 50 states and Canada. They spent many winters in Louisiana providing mission work through the United Methodist Committee on Relief (UMCOR) and continued volunteering in that capacity for 15 years. They were mobilized from UMCOR to deliver supplies and provide relief to New Orleans after Hurricane Katrina. Many times, they organized and carried donations that had been collected through Iowa Methodist in-gatherings. They were also active in the Mobile United Methodist Missionaries (MUMM) ministry. After retirement, they traveled to Australia; went to Nova Scotia; and drove the Alaskan Highway. They enjoyed camping and belonged to a camping club for many years. While living along the river in Keosauqua, Shirley loved watching birds and other wildlife in their back yard. She was a wife, mother, grandmother, mentor and friend who will be greatly missed.
Shirley is survived by daughters Teresa "Teri" (Ed) Dickinson of Douds, Iowa; Janis "Jani" (Scott) Mahle of Danbury, Wisconsin; and Cynthia "Cindy" Kunzman of Rochester, Minnesota; brother Ronald Owens of Hannibal, Missouri; and grandchildren Dane Dickinson; Seth Dickinson (Charlie Haumersen); Alison (Jace Otte) Dickinson; Matt Mahle; and Nora (Michael) Tully; and other cousins, nieces and nephews. She was preceded in death by husband, Charley; her parents; a sister, Phyllis Cornwell; and great-grandchildren, Jaxon and Ava Tully.
Funeral services for Shirley will be held at 11:00AM on Thursday July 31,2025 at Cranston Family Funeral Home in Keosauqua with Rev. Dane Dickinson officiating. Visitation will be an hour prior to the service beginning at 10:00AM at the funeral home. Burial will immediately follow the service in Mount Moriah Cemetery, near Douds. Memorials in Shirley's honor to the Iowa Library for the blind or Christ United Methodist Church may be left at the funeral home or mailed to the family at P.O. Box 189, Fairfield, IA 52556. Friends may leave online condolences at www.cranstonfamilyfuneralhome.com