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.