Phyllis Kukar

Funeral Mass for Phyllis Ann Kukar, 94, of Gilbert will be 10 am Tuesday, August 18, 2015 at St. Joseph’s Catholic Church in Gilbert with Fr. Charles Flynn Celebrant. Visitation will be one hour prior to Mass at the church. Interment will be in the Gilbert Cemetery. Military honors will be accorded by the Gilbert Color Guard. Arrangements are by the Ziemer-Moeglein-Shatava Funeral Home in Gilbert. Phyllis died Friday, August 14, 2015 at Essentia Health-Virginia peacefully surrounded by her family. Phyllis was born on July 20, 1921 to Anton and Pauline (Chernoff) Lopp in Gilbert. She attended Gilbert High School, Class of 1939 where she lettered in swimming. Following high school, she attended St. John’s School of Nursing in Springfield, IL. Phyllis served in the Army Nurse Corps during WWII in Carentan, France and Bayreuth, Germany. Phyllis was united in marriage to Anton “Tony” Kukar on December 26, 1955. She was the first woman to join the Gilbert American Legion Post #138 and later the Gilbert VFW. Phyllis enjoyed traveling, including trips to Fatima, Lourdes, and the Holy Land. She enjoyed traveling to New Zealand and Australia with her three daughters and Europe several times. She enjoyed her grandchildren and numerous nieces and nephews visiting during the summers at her cottage on Lake Eshquaguma. She was an active member of the St. Joseph’s Catholic Church in Gilbert, the Gilbert Sr. Citizen’s Club, the Slovenian Women’s Union of America in which she was honored as 2001 “Mother of the Year”, the Polka Group and volunteered as a Girl Scout leader. Phyllis will be remembered as being very proud of her Catholic faith and Slovenian heritage and will be dearly missed. Survivors include her three daughters: Margaret (Tim) Stratton of Lodi, WI; Paula (Tim Maes) Kukar of Arvada, CO; and Dee Dee (Marty) Fautch of Gilbert; six grandchildren: Jamie, Lindsey and John Stratton, Toni Carroll, Jeffrey and Greg Fautch; special nieces and nephews: Kathy Samargia, Tony and Bobby Lopp, Mary Skorjanec, and Patti (Lopp) Leach; special close cousin: Pauline Scharres of Lemont, IL.; and numerous other nieces, nephews, great-nieces and great-nephews, cousins, and friends. She was preceded in death by her husband, Anton; two brothers: Cyril and Gene ”Chee Chee” Lopp; and her parents.