Winfield mourns trustee

A Winfield trustee who was instrumental in raising money for an ambitious Riverwalk project is being remembered this week as a religious man who rarely had unkind words for anybody.

Joel Kunesh, 74, died Saturday at his home with his family by his side, officials said.

After years of work with the Winfield Library Friends and St. John the Baptist Church, Kunesh was elected to the village board in 2005.

Trustee Jack Bajor was first elected the same year and said the loss of the soft-spoken Kunesh will be tough to handle.

“He was such a wonderful man,” Bajor said. “Very warmhearted and detailed. He didn’t have a lot to say but he made up for that in research. He always worked with others really well.”

During the past year, Kunesh became more involved in the Riverwalk Committee and helped push that group to raise between $40,000 and $50,000.

“He was just very optimistic and focused on, ‘Let’s start raising some dollars to make this happen,’” Village Manager Curt Barrett said. “He was certainly a voice of leadership to help get them going.”

Kunesh was praised as someone who got along with everybody.

“He was just a pleasure to work for and really told it like it is,” Barrett said. “He had a very kind way of dealing with people and dealing with challenges.”

In the 1990s, Kunesh served on the village’s plan commission.

Village President Deb Birutis will appoint a replacement to serve the remainder of Kunesh’s term, which expires in 2013, but on Monday said he leaves “big shoes to fill.”

“He was passionate about Winfield and cared deeply about everyone,” Birutis said. “He will be missed.”

Trustee Jay Olson said he has looked up to Kunesh and considered him a mentor ever since Olson was elected in 2009.

“As someone who was there for a period of time, he understood that it took a little time to understand the ropes and how it works,” Olson said. “He was always very helpful, very personable.”

Olson said Kunesh considered all sides to a discussion before casting a vote.

“He was very passionate and certainly cared very greatly about Winfield,” Olson said. “Any time he voted, he always reflected on his decisions.”

Trustee Bajor served alongside Kunesh on the village’s stormwater and public works committees. Kunesh regularly attended services at St. John the Baptist and brought a moral conscience with him that other politicians could learn from, Bajor said.

“That is what we are looking for in good politicians,” he said. “It was an honor to serve with him for six years in a political setting, but more so as a friend and human being.”

A wake will be held from 4 to 8 p.m. Wednesday at Williams-Kampp Funeral Home, 430 E. Roosevelt Road in Wheaton. Funeral services are set for 11:30 a.m. Thursday at St. John the Baptist Church, 0S233 Church St. in Winfield.