October 13, 1945 - November 19, 2017 JoAnna Girton Kunes, 72, of Scottsdale, Arizona, formerly of Chatsworth, CA, for many glorious years, passed away on Sunday, November 19th, 2017. Born October 13th, 1945 in Glendale, CA, she was predeceased by her mother, Ruth Girton, her father, Charles Girton, and her late husband, Richard G. Kunes, of Chatsworth, California. JoAnna was, and still is to many in our hearts, a pure fighter in every sense of the word. As a school administrator for the bulk of her life, she fought feverishly for her faculty, staff, and fellow administrators to give their best efforts at all times......and internally she demanded the same from herself for them, unequivocally without a doubt. She fought for and supported creative academic programs to help brighten futures for young middle school children, predominantly at Madison Middle School in North Hollywood, where she was PrinciPAL for 10+ years. She fought for epic, memorable summer vacations with her husband and son by working Saturday school hours whenever she could for extra "fun money" she'd call it. She fought for the right to claim host to the "best St. Patty's Day parties ever" at her Chatsworth home on Variel Ave. because they were the best - and if you're reading this you probably remember some of them! She fought hard in the grandstands of Jackie Robinson Stadium rooting for her son Mike Kunes and the UCLA Baseball Bruins to gain victory every home game, and she also fought hard behind the scenes to be sure she didn't have to manage the UCLA Snack Bar during the USC/UCLA series. Lastly, she fought glioblastoma the final 8 years of her life (you read that correctly, 8 years), which exceeded any and all life expectancy percentages since the 5-year relative survival rate for some between the ages of 55-64 is 5%.....just incredible. She was a fighter for education, a fighter for her family, and a fighter for life. A truly incredible woman, friend, colleague, wife, sister, sister-in-law, mother, mother-in-law, and one who never forgot to correct your grammar if she could. She will certainly be tremendously missed, however it was time for her to stop fighting and to begin her new life "up top with my Pop." I will miss you every day, Mom, love you dearly. Survivors include her only son Mike Kunes of Phoenix, AZ, and his wife Whitney Kunes; her brother John Girton of Grass Valley, CA, his wife Linda Girton, and their daughter Catherina Girton; as well as her pet: Frankie (dog). Memorial services will be conducted at a much later date in Southern California, most likely during the Spring of 2018 - her favorite season. This will allow ample time for JoAnna to enjoy the holidays and the new year upstairs with her late husband and Mom¿¿before she has to set aside time to be spiritually present for her memorial. Please contact the following email address for any questions, and also if you'd like to be on the eventual distribution list for future memorial information: Mkunes10@gmail.com

Published in the Los Angeles Times from Dec. 7 to Dec. 9, 2017