Calvin Lee Kunze, 76, of Milford, passed into eternal life with his Lord and Savior on July 22, 2025.
Calvin was born June 11, 1949, in Humboldt, to Leo and Rachel (Bright) Kunze. He grew up on the family farm and attended school in Humboldt. He loved farm life, especially driving tractors and farm equipment. After graduating from high school, Calvin enlisted in the U.S. Navy and completed boot camp at the Recruit Training Command (RTC) in Great Lakes, Illinois. Though originally ordered to Vietnam during the Vietnam War, he was stationed in Guam and later assigned to Hunter’s Point naval shipyard.
Following his honorable discharge from the Navy, Calvin returned home and worked at the Table Rock Co-Op Station before enrolling at Peru State College, where he earned a bachelor’s degree. He later worked at several state health departments before joining the Nebraska Department of Agriculture, where he served as a state food inspector for 35 years until his retirement in 2013.
In 1976, Calvin married Sonia (Fouraker) Shaw of Falls City. Sonia had two daughters, Connie and Kelly, from a previous marriage. Sonia passed away on Dec. 9, 1994, after a courageous battle with breast cancer. On Sept. 9, 2000, Calvin married Judith (Jody) Marie Talarico of Wilber. Jody had two sons, Stephen and Cody, from her marriage to the late Ernest Talarico. Calvin and Jody made their home in Milford, where they shared their life with a house full of cats, tractors, and a Doberman.
Calvin was active in the Knights of Columbus and the local American Legion. He had a deep love for antique tractors and was an enthusiastic member of the Seward Tractor Club. He enjoyed helping friends on their farms – often just for the chance to drive more equipment – and was equally passionate about classic cars, and attending both car and tractor shows.
He is survived by his wife, Jody; son-in-law, Stephen Talarico and wife Michelle Lisec-Talarico of Lincoln, Cody Talarico and wife Jennifer and their son, Graham of Bellevue; stepdaughters, Connie Rogers of Hannibal, Missouri, and her son Dakota Rogers, wife Breanne, and their son Dallas, and Kelly Shaw of Lincoln. He is also survived by his brother, Rick Kunze and wife Bobbie Stillinger-Kunze of Adams, and their children: Michelle and Robert Phillips and their children, Rachel, Maiah, and Corbin of Omaha, Jennifer and Andrew Rodriguez of Bakersfield, California, Cody Westbrook of Humboldt, Spencer and Tamara Kunze and their son, Kaden of Adams, Amy and Mike Hunzeker and their sons, Cole and Cooper of Table Rock, John and Lindsay Kostecka and their daughter, Johnna of Table Rock.
Calvin was preceded in death by his parents, Leo and Rachel Kunze, and his first wife, Sonia Shaw.
The Funeral Mass was Aug. 1 at the St. Vincent de Paul Catholic Church in Seward with interment at the Table Rock Cemetery, with full military burial rites. In lieu of flowers, memorial contributions are suggested to the family for a future designation.
Arrangements by Lauber Funeral and Cremation Services, Milford.
