Julia P. Kunesh (Julie) passed away on Sunday, May 12, 2024, following a long battle with Alzheimer's. She was born on January 18, 1943, to Lawrence and Doris Prout at Trinity Lutheran Hospital in Kansas City, MO. She graduated from William Chrisman High School in Independence, Missouri, in 1961. She earned her BA degree, with Honors, from Central Missouri State University in Art & English Education. There, she met and married her husband, Greg, and gave birth to their son, Kevin.
Julie had a notable professional career covering more than forty years of teaching art at various public schools in Missouri, Colorado, and Oklahoma. In Missouri, she taught in Higginsville and Columbia. She spent four years teaching elementary art for the Boulder Valley school system in Boulder, Colorado. She taught at Noble Junior High in Oklahoma and ended her career with the Norman Public School System, teaching art at West Mid High. She served as the yearbook advisor at West Mid-High before moving on to Norman High School before retirement. Julie was twice recognized as Teacher of the Year by the Norman Public School System. In retirement, she was an active member of the OU Museum of Art Docent Program, where she loved giving tours of the Museum and conducting workshops for elementary students from throughout the region.
Julie was an avid reader throughout her life. Her primary interests were history, biography, and British literature, focusing on Jane Austin and the entire Bloomsbury group. She enjoyed visiting art and history museums and had wonderful memories of New York's Metropolitan Museum of Modern Art.
Julie is survived by her husband Greg, son Kevin (Lelanya), grandchildren Reese and Leigh, sister Carolyn, brothers John and Michael, step-sister Lisa, and several relatives in the greater Kansas City area. She was preceded in death by both of her parents and a brother, Dale.
The family extends sincere thanks to the nurses and staff of Arbor Hose Reminiscent Center, who treated and cared for Julie for more than a year. Special gratitude is extended to the caregivers from Inhabit Hospice for their loving care during the past three months. Also, a special thank you to Candace Hottle for her longstanding, strong friendship and loving care for July, particularly in the past two years.
In lieu of flowers, the family requests contributions may be offered in Julie's honor to the OU Museum of Art Docent Program through the University of Oklahoma Foundation, 100 W. Timberdell Road, Norman, OK. 73019.
The family will hold a private celebration of Julie's life at a future date.
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