Anna Kugele, age 86, of Grand Rapids passed away on Thursday, April 30, 2020, at Butterworth Hospital.
Anna was born in Bekasmegyer, a German community on the outskirts of Budapest, Hungary on February 10, 1934, the daughter of Johann and Anna (Gaschler) Isak. Her family moved to Mosbach, near Heidelberg in West Germany as World War II came to an end. She immigrated to the United States with her family in 1952. She married Jakob Kugele (who was also an immigrant from Germany) on May 19th, 1956, in Los Angeles, California. Together, they had twin children, Monika and Norbert. In 1964, she and her husband and children moved to Portland, Oregon, where she lived until moving to Grand Rapids in 2005.
Anna is survived by Norbert and Rebecca (Lean) Kugele and her grandchildren, Hannah and Jacob Kugele; her older brother Franz Isak of Rolling Hills Estates, California; and her younger brother Johann Cletus Isak of Gerlingen, Germany. She was preceded in death by her daughter Monika (1965) and husband Jakob (1993).
Anna was a perfectionist, which was shown by the care she took with her home and her wonderful cooking and baking. There were rules in Anna’s house, including that she only baked with unsalted butter, pure cane sugar, and homemade jam. Her family will miss her holiday cookies, her cheesecakes, and her schnitzel. Anna will be missed by all of her friends and family.
Out of respect for the social distancing required in these times, the family will have a private funeral at St. Robert of Newminster Catholic Church.
For those who wish, memorials may be made to the Dominican Sisters of Grand Rapids or the Brain Research Foundation.
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