William “Howard” Kunesh (age 100) and Esther “Joan” (Haraldsen) Kunesh (age 97) were taken into God’s hands only six days apart. As in life, so too in death, Howard and Joan were never far apart. Joan passed on December 14, 2025, with Howard passing on December 20, 2025.

Both were born in St. Paul Minnesota – Howard on August 12, 1925, to the late Joseph and Ruth Kunesh and Joan on March 22, 1928, to the late Thor and Esther Haraldsen. They lived their early years in North St. Paul, Minnesota, but never knew each other.

At age 17 (in 1943), Howard enlisted in the U.S. Army Air Crops and was told he would be called to active duty on his 18th birthday. Meanwhile, he went to work at a sheep ranch in Big Timber, Montana. Shortly after his 18th birthday, he received a telegram from his father stating he was to “report to Fort Snelling, Minnesota ASAP”. He was sworn in at Fort Snelling and then traveled by train to Miami Beach, Florida, where he went through basic training. After 8 weeks he was transferred to Montgomery, Alabama, where he was classified for bombardier training. He also trained at several other bases in the U.S. and received his gunnery wings. He was awaiting transfer to the South Pacific when World War II ended. He received an honorable discharge on October 1, 1945.

Joan graduated from high school in 1946 and began employment at Minnesota Mining and Manufacturing Company (3M). Howard and Joan met in the summer of 1946 on a streetcar in St. Paul. They found they mad many of the same interests – country music, especially Hank Williams and Sons of the Pioneers, dancing and eating out (White Castle’s price was always right!). Howard took Joan to her first indoor hockey match. He loved hockey his entire life. Howard coached a junior hockey team for New Canada Township for two seasons – 1945-1947. Joan was their biggest fan!

Their friendship turned into a committed relationship, and they eloped on January 11, 1947, in Osage, Iowa. They lived in St. Paul while Howard attended night school using his GI bill to become a gool and die inspector and obtained employment. With Joan’s support and help, Howard built their home in North St. Paul. They started a family with the birth of Steven Howard Kunesh in 1947, Susan Marie Hunesh (Bartlett) in 1949 and Cynthia Ruth Kunesh (Purcella) in 1950.

Howard and Joan made a bold move in 1951 when they decided to pack up their little family and move to Dexter, New Mexico, where Howard became an employee of the Dexter National Fish Hatchery. That was the beginning of a 32-year career with the National Fish and Wildlife Service. The family relocated numerous times during this period, with Joan always leading the pack and setting up a new home in San Marcos, Texas, where, in 1953, Lynn Esther Kunesh was born; then on to Crawford, Nebraska; McKenny, South Dakota; Courtland, New York; Truth or Consequences, New Mexico; Springville, Utah; Williams Creek, Arizona, and Saratoga, Wyoming, where Howard was promoted to Manager. They lived in Saratoga for 15 years, during which time Mark Alan Kunesh was born in 1961 and Jeffrey Paul Kunesh was born in 1963. In 1975, Joan began the packing process yet again for the family’s move to Riverdale, North Dakota, where Howard managed the Garrison Dam Fish Hatchery for nine years. No matter where they lived Joan immersed herself in the community and was involved with the PTA, Cub Scouts, the Catholic Church Altar Society and Knitting Club. Howard retired in 1984 from the Federal government, but Howard’s career was not over by a long shot!

Shortly after retirement, Howard was asked to spearhead the construction of a fish hatchery in Valle de Bravo, Mexico. Again, with Joan taking charge of the transfer, the two of them moved to Mexico for the next two years. During their years of fish hatchery life, including wile in Mexico, they developed strong friendships with fish hatchery employees and their families which lasted their lifetimes. Despite the language barrier in Mexico, they rented a home from the Otero family with whom they and their children became great friends and maintain a valued friendship to this day.

Throughout, Howard and Joan’s 78 years of married life, they enjoyed traveling, camping, dancing, visiting their children, playing with their grandchildren, and sharing their treasure trove of stories and anecdotes from their personal lives as well as “hatchery life”. In his spare time, Howard was an avid woodworker, creating beautiful treasures for his family and friends. Joan was the family historian, devoting her spare time to translating hundreds of old letters from her relatives in Norway, tracing her family history back to the 1700’s. She was also known for her culinary delights, especially her Swedish pancakes.

They are survived by their children, Susan Bartlett, Cynthia Purcella, Lynn Kunesh (Mary), Mark Kunesh (Wyndee) and Jeff Kunesh (Rebecca); nine grandchildren, Kara (Dede Schreibeis), Kristin (Kwin Wilkes), Karin (Christopher Morley), Gregory (Heather), Sarah (Neil Kadrmas), Emily (Clay Haraseth), Regina (Gerardo Vega), Hannah Kunesh and Zachary Kunesh; 16 great grandchildren and one great-great grandchild; and Joan’s sister, Karen Haraldsen. They were preceded in death by their parents, their beloved son, Steve; their grandson, Michael Kobielusz; their son-in-law, Garland Bartlett, Howard’s three brothers, Robert, Richard, and Donard Kunesh and Joan’s brother, Robert Haraldsen, along with other cherished relatives.

A memorial service, at a location to be determined, and burial at Fort Snelling National Cemetery in South Minneapolis, Minnesota, will be held at a later date. Howard and Joan’s marriage was one of immerse love and each other and for their family; an appreciation for strong friendships; a positive can-do attitude and a quiet, but fierce perseverance to make the most of life’s adventures.