Dr. Jeanne Lovrencic Kunesh

PHOENIX – Dr. Jeanne Lovrencic Kunesh passed away following a sudden and short illness on August 14th, 2020, just two days shy of her 82nd birthday. She was born in Pittsburgh, PA, in 1938 where she lived throughout her childhood. Jeanne was a proud alumna of Carnegie Mellon University, where she graduated in 1960 with a Bachelor of Science in Home Economics. A firm believer in higher education, she received her Masters in Special Education from Northeastern Illinois University in 1976 and went on to be awarded a PhD from Northwestern University in Educational Psychology in 1980. While pursuing her PhD in Chicago, she independently raised 3 children and moved to sunny Arizona after her graduation in 1980. She began her career as a School Psychologist where she used her passion and education to advocate for students with diverse needs, ensuring they connected to resources to help them thrive. This passion led her to work full-time at 81 years old. Jeanne loved vacationing around the world with her family, but her favorite place was Hawaii, where she would sip Mai Tais every summer break. She loved nothing more than taking her family out to eat, where a generous tip was always status quo. Known for hosting boisterous holiday parties, she notoriously cooked delicious Thanksgiving and Christmas Eve dinners for her family every year. She believed in people and made everyone feel special. Jeanne will be remembered as a doting mother, grandmother, and aunt, known for spoiling everyone she loved so dearly. She will be greatly missed by her community and family, and is survived by her brother Paul, daughters Susan and Jan, son John, grandchildren Sean, Megan, Jaqueline, Katie, and Lilah, nephew Michael, nieces Hope & Amy, and a loving circle of extended family that she embraced with open arms. In lieu of flowers, donations can be made to the Phoenix Union Department of Special Education to honor her life’s work in student advocacy and education. Donations can be sent to her home institution: Maryvale High School, Re: Celsa Chavez, 3415 N. 59th Ave., Phoenix, AZ 85033. Please visit hansenmortuary.com for online condolences.