DESTINED TO BE TOGETHER SUNDAY MORNING
Our cousin Judy is retired from her career job as an attorney for the U. S. Justice Department. She is also an artist and art appraiser. For more on Judy, go to her website at www.judithbenderson.com.
Suffice it to say, we are just very fond of Judy and appreciate her artwork. That was why, when my husband said he had a conference to attend in D.C., we immediately decided to combine our trip, by also visiting Judy, giving us a chance to see more of her recent pieces in person. Judy lives nearby D.C. in Chevy Chase, Maryland, and we arranged for her to come to our hotel at 8:00 a.m. this past Sunday.
Days after we scheduled our get-together, Judy emailed that her brother Kenny, our cousin and former ear, nose, throat doctor (ENT), who suffered a life-altering medical trauma last year, was not doing well and she needed to cancel our plans so that she and her daughter could get to the airport for their trip to Florida to see him that day.
Judy’s maternal grandmother was my mother-in-law’s eldest sister and Judy is older than my husband. Due to unexplained family dynamics, we never really knew her until we were at another event in D.C. around ten years ago, and she cared for our young son Moss, while we were out for the evening. We never really got to know Kenny until we started using him as our family’s ENT around 15 years ago. As a matter-of-fact, our daughter Rina, named for his grandmother Rosie, was his patient on the last day of his practice in his New Jersey office in 2012, before he retired to Florida.
During our family’s medical visits, I learned about his passion for history, especially the Civil War, his love for his family, the death of his son Daniel, and his interest in the family genealogy, possibly fueled somewhat by my years of work on our family history. I already knew about him years before I actually met him. I would visit his grandmother Rosie, with my mother-in-law and she would boast about Kenny, “her grandson the doctor,” as he was the apple of her eye. On those visits, Aunt Rosie would also regale me with stories about my maternal grandfather, always ending by saying, “he was so honest.” They would have long conversations about the old country when Papa came from Roselle, New Jersey to deliver ice and coal to her in neighboring Linden, New Jersey. Yes, the connections never cease; our families go way back.
Midweek last week we got notification of Kenny’s death in Florida and the funeral arrangements at 11:00 a.m. last Sunday in New Jersey - see obit below. Since we were no longer scheduled to meet with Judy on Sunday morning nearby her home, we changed our travel plans to leave for D.C. on Sunday afternoon and travel by train at 1:30 from MetroPark, which is about a half an hour from the funeral parlor. I suppose we were destined to be together with Judy on Sunday morning. We’re just so sorry that it had to be at Kenny’s funeral in New Jersey.
There’s an old Yiddish expression, “Mann Tracht, Un Gott Lacht” meaning, “Man Plans, and God Laughs.” How apropos.
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Kenneth Kunzman, age 80, died peacefully at his home on October 22, 2019.
Born and raised in Plainfield, NJ, Dr. Kunzman was devoted to his family, to his medical practice and to his community. He received his B.A. degree from Colgate University and his M.D. degree from Seaton Hall University (now UNDMJ/Rutgers). His medical career began with an internship at Philadelphia General Hospital followed by a residency in Otolaryngology (ENT) at the University of Pennsylvania. Dr. Kunzman Proudly served in the U.S. Army medical Corps as a Major during the Vietnam War. In 1971, Dr. Kunzman opened his Somerville, NJ, medical practice, Somerset ENT, which later merged with a large group in 2009 to become ENT and Allergy Associates in Bridgewater, NJ. He was on the staff at Somerset Medical Center for 41 years, retiring in 2012. For 25 years, Dr. Kunzman spent his days off working as Chief of ENT at Lyons Veterans Hospital, Lyons, NJ, giving back to our veterans and service members.
After raising his family in Bridgewater, NJ, Dr. Kunzman and his wife Susan retired to Boynton Beach, FL. Dr. Kunzman, however, found retired life too quiet, and soon returned to part-time medical practice at the Cleveland Clinic/Florida.
Dr. Kunzman was a former member of Temple Beth El in Somerville, NJ. His interests were many and reflected the vibrancy and zest for life he was well known for: running, skiing, tennis, golf, and gardening were among his favorite activities. He went to the gym every day—often twice! A voracious reader, he always had at least one book in progress, particularly favoring American history. Later in life, he took the time to pursue his passions for painting and piano. He loved his family, a good joke, the Giants, movies, his vacation home in Quechee, VT, the New York Philharmonic, Broadway plays, and dinners with friends.
Surviving Dr. Kunzman is his loving wife of 55 years, Susan Weiss Kunzman, daughters Margaret Kunzman Canihan Jill Kunzman Greene, and son Mark Kunzman; son-in-law Rabbi Shmulie Greene and daughter-in-law Kristin Kunzman; 11 grandchildren -Ciara, Isabel, Gavriella, Michael, Hadassah, Allison, Naomi, Moshe, Sadie, Zev and Remy. He is also survived by his sisters Lois Kunzman Shapiro and husband Dr. Robert Shapiro and Judith Kunzman Benderson.
His son Daniel Jay Kunzman predeceased him.
Funeral Services will be Sunday, October 27th at 11 a.m at Bruce C. Van Arsdale Funeral Home. 111 N. Gaston Ave. Somerville, NJ.
Please send memorial contributions to Jewish Family Service of Somerset, Hunterdon and Warren Counties Or NJ NCSY.
Cousin Kenny Kunzman, M.D.