RAYMOND KUNISCH, 1923-2010: Retired teacher embraced technology

Raymond Kunisch, 86, a junior high science teacher who became a computer savant in retirement, died Sept. 3 in Hospice of Northwest Ohio, South Detroit Avenue, after a stroke.

Mr. Kunisch of South Toledo retired in the 1980s from the Washington Local Schools, his daughter Karen Holler said.

He taught science, especially chemistry, at Jefferson Junior High School for 25 years. He drew students in and made learning fun, and in turn, Mr. Kuisch learned from the experience, his daughter said.

Former students "always said how funny he was," his daughter said. "He loved to tell stories, and he was almost theatrical.

"He wanted to keep up on things. He liked the younger generation," his daughter said. "He was into staying youthful and knowing what was going on. He did that all his life. After he retired, he went to the senior center. He loved line dancing and getting other seniors interested in the computer."

He embraced technology.

"He was very computer savvy," his daughter said. "That's how he stayed connected."

He was a user of Facebook and Twitter. He paid his bills and ordered goods online. Mr. Kunisch watched television programs and movies - he was a fan of foreign film - that were streamed online.

"My dad was into reinventing himself," his daughter said. "He always had something he was going to try. He loved learning."

Promotion came naturally, whether he was selling students on science or extolling Toledo's attributes. After his teaching career, he visited retirement and assisted-living homes to promote Miracle-Ear hearing aids, for which he was a salesman.

He and the late Kathy Wizgen, who was his life partner, liked to go dancing and took motor trips around the country, his daughter said.

He was born Dec. 18, 1923, in Toledo to Helen and Alfred Kunisch. He was a 1941 graduate of Central Catholic High School and, the next year, he enlisted in the Army Air Corps.

He was a radioman and gunner aboard B-24s in the Pacific Theater. At war's end, he was stationed at Clark Air Field on Luzon Island in the Philippines, said his brother Bill, also a World War II veteran.

Mr. Kunisch received a bachelor's degree in pharmacy from the University of Toledo, but a career behind the drug counter didn't interest him. Education did, and he worked toward a teaching certificate.

He and the former Virginia Hug married in 1949. They later divorced.

Surviving are his daughters, Dr. Patricia A. Diamond, Karen Holler, and Mary Macawile, sons, Fred, Dr. Robert, James, and Joseph, brothers, William and the Rev. Robert Kunisch, sisters, Eileen Couturier and Alice Westrick, and seven grandchildren.

At his request, his body was donated to the University of Toledo Medical Center, the former Medical College of Ohio.

"He wanted to teach all the way to the end," his daughter said.

Memorial services will be scheduled later.

The family suggests tributes to Sorrowful Mother Shrine, Bellevue, Ohio, Hospice of Northwest Ohio, Cherry Street Mission, Toledo, or a charity of the donor's choice.

Contact Mark Zaborney at:

mzaborney@theblade.com

or 419-724-6182.