Marlin R. Kunard

Marlin R. Kunard, age 78, of Lura Lake, rural Mapleton, died suddenly from organ failure July 27, 2016, at St. Mary’s Hospital in Rochester.

Funeral Service will be held 11:00 a.m., Monday, August 1, 2016, at Messiah Lutheran Church, 1706 Lee Blvd, North Mankato.  Visitation will be 2-5 p.m. on Sunday at Northview – North Mankato Mortuary, 2060 Commerce Drive, and continues one hour prior to the service at the church on Monday.  Private family interment will be in Fairview Cemetery in Fairmont.  In lieu of flowers, donations are encouraged to the Lura Lake Association that Marlin was dedicated to:  www.luralake.com.

Marlin was born October 18, 1937, to Richard and Ida (Reim) Kunard in Fairmont.  He was baptized on November 14, 1937, at Grace Lutheran Church in Fairmont and was confirmed there on May 13, 1951.  His educational start was at a country schoolhouse to which he frequently rode a horse.  He graduated from Welcome High School, where he was an outstanding athlete, lettering for three years in football, baseball, basketball and track.  He was captain of all of his teams.  He then graduated from St. Olaf College and Northwestern University School of Law.

He moved to Mankato in 1962 and found a vocation as a lawyer that would last him the rest of his life, practicing in both Mankato and Mapleton.  During his career, he served as an Assistant Blue Earth County attorney, a Special Municipal Judge for North Mankato, four terms as a representative to the Board of Governors of the Minnesota State Bar Association, and for many years was a member of and chaired the Sixth District Bar Association Ethics Committee.  He was a lecturer for numerous professional associations in the fields of Estate Planning and Taxation, was accepted as a life member by the National Registry of Who’s Who, and dubbed a “Super Lawyer” by the Minnesota Journal of Law and Politics.  He was a no-nonsense, hard-working, dedicated and client-oriented attorney.  He was a trusted advisor, always looking out for the best interests of his clients, to whom he was committed whether they were well-heeled or otherwise.

Marlin loved the outdoors.  He caught salt and freshwater fish all over North America and the Atlantic and Pacific Oceans.   He hunted elk and deer, but had a lifetime love affair with migratory waterfowl, and Labrador Retrievers.   He contributed freely of his time and legal talent to conservation organizations.  Gourmet cooking of wild game was one of his talents.  Marlin studied the violin when he was young, played in the St. Olaf Orchestra, and loved classical music, opera, and ballet.   He was fond of the Impressionists, making several trips to Paris to visit the Musee d’Orsay.  He was a member of Resurrection Lutheran Church of Mankato, was active in conservative political causes, held a private pilot’s license and was a master mason.

Marlin married Ramona F. Kakeldey on June 12, 1964.   He married Marlene J. Krogstad on September 1, 1991.  He is survived by his beloved wife and best friend, Marlene; two sons, Christopher M. (Amanda) of San Diego and Michael R. (Michelle) of Waconia; two granddaughters, Claire Madison Kunard and Ella Marie Kunard; and sister, Millicent L. (Roger) of Winnebago.

He was preceded in death by his parents; his sisters, June and Mary Temple; and his favorite Labrador Retriever, Macho.

As his epitaph, he has adopted that of Sir Walter Raleigh who was executed by King James I on October 29, 1618:

            “Even such is time, which takes in trust

            Our youth, our joys, and all we have,

            And pays us but with age and dust,

            Who in the dark and silent grave

            When we have wandered all our ways

            Shuts up the story of our days,

            And from which earth, and grave,
            and dust

            The Lord shall rise me up, I trust.”