Robert John "Rob" Kunis
Marriages
Kathy Mary Kunis - February 1969
Obituaries
Vail Daily page A5 - April 2, 2019
Rob Kunis, co-owner of Rumpelstiltskin Preschool from 1978 to 2016, died peacefully on March 16 at his home in Thompsonville, Michigan. He and his wife, Kathy, who passed away five months ago, would have been married for 50 years this past February. He was 75 years old.
Rob grew up in Chicago, the only child of Mary Jane and Lawrence Robert. He enlisted in the Army in 1964, serving tours in Korea, Vietnam, and Germany. He received a Silver Star for his service in Vietnam. After returning from Vietnam, he met the love of his life Kathy, and after six dates he asked her to be his wife. After leaving the army he majored in history at Northeastern State University.
In 1978, he and Kathy moved to the Vail Valley, opened Rumpelstiltskin, and happily settled into teaching. Their daughter Allison was the joy of his life, but Rob loved all children and they returned his love, reveling in his sense of humor. He had a deep-seated interest in philosophy and science, and as he believed no child was too young to have his imagination sparked by any subject, his lessons covered everything from current events to astronomy.
Rob was also an encyclopedia of movie trivia. His massive library of old VHS tapes, DVDs, and science fiction novels took up an entire library in their Wildridge house. When he and Kathy moved to Michigan in 2016 to join Allison, son-in-law Phil Shapton, and their two small sons Ryder and Lewis, Rob had to choose only his top favorites from his prized collection and give the rest away — an exercise which was extremely traumatic for Rob and a source of hilarity for Allison, Phil, and Kathy. He had no regrets after the fact, though, making the most of his retirement to spend time with his beloved grandsons.
Allison and Phil will be celebrating Rob and Kathy’s lives with a small reception in Vail later this year. They will both be greatly missed.
In lieu of flowers, please make a donation to the charity of your choosing in Rob’s name.
