×

Jean Dunkel

June 19, 1941-Sept. 12, 2019

Jean Dunkel, 78, Minot,

died Thursday, September

12, 2019, in a Minot hos-

pital.

Jean was born on June

19, 1941, the proud

daughter of a farmer and

his wife, Theodore (Ted)

and Edna Tofstad. Raised

on a farm north of Max,

Jean had two brothers and

four sisters: Laverne

(Anna), LaVonne (Dennis)

Hensen, Vera (Terry)

Woelber, Julie (Terry)

Markle, and Carol (Chuck)

Strain. Her brother Ron-

nie passed away at a

young age.

She then met a young

Navy man (Glen Dunkel)

and married him on De-

cember 5, 1958. The rest

was history as five chil-

dren were born. Glen Jr.

(Joan), Roger, Mike

(Mary), Bobbi (Ken) Arne-

son, and Sheri (Scott)

Hardy. They raised their

children East of Minot

where they continue to

live today.

Jean was a mother first

and foremost. She raised

her kids with a large heart

that covered them their

whole lives. She got her

driver’s license at the age

of 40 years old, taking her

two daughters with as she

borrowed her sister’s van.

Sadly, she ran over one of

the family bunnies before

even leaving the drive-

way.

Nothing was stopping

her after that – she got a

job at Country Lanes as a

baker where her food was

loved by many. She then

started working for Manor

Care as a cook in the

kitchen and retired after

19 years. She was loved

by all her co-workers and

the residents.

Jean loved to quilt, sew,

crochet, can foods, bake,

cook, play Scrabble, but

above all this she loved all

her grandchildren she had

been blessed with. Those

include Mary (Jeremy)

Dougay, TJ (Megan), Lisa

(fiance Jesse) Dunka, Brit-

tany (Brian) Denisen,

Chelsey (James) Knoll,

Dylan, Connor Arneson,

Alissa Arneson, Ciara (fi-

ance Jason) Schock, Cole

Hardy, and Ethan Hardy.

Little did she know, she

would be even more

blessed to have great-

grandchildren to brighten

her later years. These

amazing children include

Taylor, Tyler, Teyah, and

Taegan Dougay; Braxton

and Brayson Dunkel;

Brenton Baker, Quinton

Carter, Ariyanna Dunka;

Gavin and Bennett Knoll.

She recently became

great-great grandma to

Rose Marie Baker.

Jean will be met in

Heaven by her parents,

Ted and Edna, brother

Ronnie, and a multitude

of pets throughout the

years. She will be missed

dearly by her whole fami-

ly who loved her with all

their hearts.

Funeral services will be

held on Wednesday, Sep-

tember 18, at 10:00 a.m. at

Zion Lutheran Church

with burial to follow at

3:00 p.m. at the Veteran’s

Cemetery in Mandan, ND.

Visitation will be held

on Tuesday, September

17, from 3:00 p.m. to 6:00

p.m. at Thomas Family

Funeral Home.

Memories and con-

dolences can be shared at

www.thomasfamily

funeralhome.com.

The family would like

to thank all those that

cared for her this past

year at Trinity Medical

Center and Minot Rehab.

We would also like to

thank Jean’s best friend

Joanna Dahly for all the

love and support she gave

her throughout their lives.

We love you forever –

Mom, Grandma, Great-

Grandma, Great-Great-

Grandma, Sister, and

Friend.