Jeannette C. Burnett, age 95, passed away peacefully surrounded by her loved ones on March 8th, 2026. She was preceded in death by her loving husband, Keith, who died just 4 1/2 weeks before her and about two weeks before their 72nd wedding anniversary. She was also preceded in death by her parents, Anton and Mary (Chula) Kunchynski, her sister, Laura Peters, and her son-in-law Bruce Kurtzbach, who she loved as her own son. She has two daughters Debra (Neil) Matczynski, Kelly (Rex) Carney; five grandchildren Tara (Jason) Mettler, David (Tracy) Kurtzbach, Brandon (Michelle) Kurtzbach, Ashley Kurtzbach, Brittany (Brandon) Becker; and two great grandchildren, Mackenzie and Keegan.
Jeannette was born on June 10, 1930, and grew up as a simple farm girl in rural Iron River, MI, with no running water or electricity. She enjoyed and appreciated the simple pleasures of life. She was always a very studious person. She played the French horn and marched with the school band. When in high school at the age of 16, she realized how this handsome classmate of hers seemed to always be around her locker, even though he had no classes nearby. She mentioned to her mother, ‘I think this boy likes me.’ She was right, they started dating and he ended up being the love of her life. After graduating in 1948, she moved to Milwaukee and did accounting and secretarial work, which she excelled at all her life. Even in her 90’s she embraced new technologies, busy texting people and doing research on the internet. It was on February 20th, 1954, she married Keith, and settled in Manitowoc, WI where she helped him as owner and operator of Lindsay Soft Water. She did this while raising their two girls.
In Jeannette’s earlier years, she had desired to become a schoolteacher. She was able to fulfill that dream in a way that she had not expected. She started to study the Bible and was very excited by the things she had learned. She got baptized as one of Jehovah’s Witnesses in 1968 and embarked on a grand volunteer ministry, teaching people through a Bible study course the things she had learned. She was an excellent teacher and throughout the decades, she touched so many people’s lives in this way. With even limited mobility in her final years, she was able to share the Bible’s message with others by letter writing, calling people on the phone, or by seeing opportunities with those that had contact with her.
Jeannette had many interests, including following sports teams. She could hold her own when it came to knowledge of football, baseball and basketball. She loved to garden and had quite the green thumb. She had the ability to revive any plant you would bring her. She enjoyed canning, pickling and made delicious raspberry jam. She also made the best raspberry, pumpkin and lemon meringue pies with made-from-scratch flaky crust. She made excellent pasties and a cold potato salad that was unlike anyone else’s. She sewed, knitted and crocheted beautifully. She also enjoyed walking in her neighborhood, which she did for decades almost every day up until her late 80’s. She appreciated her many friends and neighbors and was always interested in how they were doing.
One of the greatest things that defined her was how she cared for her family. She gave of herself in any way that she could to be there as a loving mother, grandmother, great grandmother, aunt and sister. This was very important to her. In fact, for over 20 years, she made a huge family dinner every week from her tiny kitchen, providing opportunity for her growing family to be together regularly, which made for many fond memories. She will be dearly missed by her family and everyone who knew and loved her.
Funeral services will be held jointly with her husband, Keith, on Saturday, March 28th, 2026, at the Kingdom Hall of Jehovah’s Witnesses: 4915 Hecker Road, Manitowoc. Visitation starts at 1:30 with the funeral starting at 3:00 pm CST. Zoom will also be available for those unable to attend in person. ID: 620 594 706 PW: 180500
Harrigan Parkside Funeral Home is assisting the family with arrangements.
To leave a message of sympathy for the family, please visit Jeannette’s obituary page at www.harriganparksidefuneralhome.com.
