John/Denise Kunesh

John George Kunesh, age 67 and Denise Hancock Kunesh, age 63 died on Saturday July 29, 2006 due to injuries sustained in an automobile accident. John and Denise had been happily married for 20 years and during their marriage they enjoyed many adventures including trips to Hawaii, Florida, Europe, the Far East and anywhere that the wind took them. On one of these vacations, they traveled to Red River, NM and fell in love with the town and the community. They returned to Red River each year on vacation and then eight years later, they built their dream home in 2002 and became permanent residents of the Community. In Red River Denise and John enjoyed hiking, snow shoeing, and cross country skiing and through these activities made several good friends who became a part of their family. They had a strong love for all animals and owned several dogs throughout their marriage. They also had a tendency to take in stray cats, and, at one point their home was the home for all homeless cats as Denise had set up heat lamps on timers and beds and fed all that came by for feeding. They loved each and every one of their animals with all of their hearts and treated them like the valued children they were. John and Denise were also active in community activities and were known to spend Thanksgiving morning working in soup kitchens for the needy. John was planning on teaching math at the University this Fall and was working as an independent contractor on projects for the Department of Energy. Denise was employed as a director of nurse certification and traveled throughout New Mexico administering certification tests and managing nursing programs. They enjoyed hiking with their dog Diego and were known to bring him all over town and on many of their journeys. They also loved traveling back East to visit with their family and grandchildren and made the trip two to three times each year. Denise never missed a baby or bridal shower and really made a strong effort to not let the distance interfere with family relations. Prior to living in New Mexico John and Denise lived in New Jersey where they met and fell in love and then were relocated to Burbank, California. While in Burbank they took up mountain biking and cycled nearly every weekend. Eventually John's job brought them to Stillwater, Oklahoma where Denise continued her work in home health care and earned her PH.D. They made several life long friends and joined a cycling club and participated in regular weekend rides and Oklahoma FreeWheel, an annual week-long cross-state bicycle ride. Denise is survived by her two daughters, sons-in-law and grand children: Diane, Tom and Thomas Oborne of Hamilton, NJ; Linda, John and Julia Ahrens of Clarksburg, MD and her sisters Beth Jablonski of Manahawkin, NJ, Eileen Brown of Surf City, NJ and Sister-In-Law Colleen Hancock of Hamilton, NJ as well as many aunts, cousins, nieces and nephews. John is survived by his three children and a son-in-law and daughter-in-law and 4 grandchildren: Susan, Christopher Sean, Megan Burke of Phoenix, Arizona; Jan Kunesh of Los Angeles, California; and John, Lisa, Jacqueline and Katy Kunesh of Manhattan Beach, California. John and Denise touched the lives of many people and have many friends across the Country. A service was held at Rivera-Hanlon Funeral Home, on August 05, 2006. In lieu of flowers donations can be made to the ASPCA or the Red River Volunteer Fire Department, P.O. Box 1020, Red River, NM 87558 .