Clara Anita Schur Knukel
Clara Anita Schur Kunkel, 92, of Amarillo died Thursday, Jan. 29, 2015. Services will be at 1 p.m., Tuesday, Feb. 3, 2015, at Trinity Lutheran Church, 5005 Interstate 40 West, and officiated by the Rev. Brian Hesse. Burial will be at Llano Cemetery. Arrangements are by Boxwell Brothers Funeral Directors, 2800 Paramount Blvd.
Clara Anita was born on April 27, 1922, on a farm in the southwest part of Wilbarger County, to Paul Wilhelm and Emma Louise Hempel Schur. At the age of seven, she lived with aunts and uncles for several years after her mother died as her father could not both farm and take care of the children. Her father remarried in 1931 to Adele Biar and they returned to work on the farm. Anita picked cotton with Mama Adele and her sisters and sang hymns as they worked in the fields.
Anita finished high school in Vernon and supported the war effort at home like many other families. She attended Saint John’s College in Winfield, Kansas and roomed with her future sister-in-law, Anieta Kunkel.
After the end of the World War II, Anita moved to Lubbock and attended Texas Tech University where she received a bachelor’s degree in home economics. She married Calvin Martin Kunkel in October 1946 and they remained in Lubbock until 1954, when they moved to Amarillo. They were active in Trinity Lutheran Church and the community for many years.
Anita worked hard to support her family and provide a comfortable and loving home. She worked at Memory Gardens Funeral Home and Great Western Directories for many years.
Anita was a devout believer in her Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ. Her bible and daily devotion book were always near her side. She cared deeply for her family, loved anything purple, and kept up daily with the weather, news and politics. After her family, she treasured most her month-long trip to the Holy Land and Denmark and spoke of it often. She was always gracious and kind to everyone she knew or met.
She was preceded in death by a brother, Charles Schur, in 2003. Survivors include her three children, Monte and Debra, both of Amarillo, and Michael and wife Tracy of Charlottesville, Virginia; two sisters, Pauline Schoppa of Lubbock and Sidonia Kieschnick and husband Edward of Harrold, Martin Schur and wife Elaine of Plainview, and Arthur Schur and wife Nelle of Lockney; six grandchildren, Shawn Kossey, Heather Newman and husband Jimmy, all of Amarillo, David Kossey and wife Lacy of Canyon, and Andrew, Benjamin, and Sofia Kunkel, all of Charlottesville, Virginia; four great-grandchildren; nieces and nephews, and numerous other family members and friends.
The family suggests memorials be made to the BSA Hospice Foundation Fund, P.O. Box 950, Amarillo, TX 79105.
