Claudia Thelma Zunker

Claudia Thelma Zunker, also affectionately known as Nanny by her grandchildren and great-grandchildren, peacefully entered the gates of heaven on Easter Sunday, March 31, 2024, at the age of 84. She was born on September 23, 1939 to Monroe and Mary Henk in New Braunfels, TX. It was very fitting that Claudia, a devout Catholic, began her eternal life on Easter Sunday.

Claudia attended school in New Braunfels where she participated in track and was known to be quite the speedster. She, along with her siblings, worked on her daddy’s dairy farm by milking cows many mornings before school. She graduated from New Braunfels High School in 1957. After high school she worked at Dr. Langston’s office while also making sure not to miss a Saturday night at Gruene Hall with her sister Phyllis and their friends. It was there that she would often see her future husband, Wilburn Zunker. They started dating and then married at Saints Peter and Paul Catholic Church on April 23, 1960, in New Braunfels, TX. This union brought their children Dwayne, Kay Lynn, and Rusty, who Claudia loved and adored beyond words. Due to Wilburn’s job with the railroad, their young family moved several times early in their marriage. Besides living in New Braunfels in those early years, there were other stops that included Uvalde, Del Rio, Edinburg, Alpine, and Eagle Lake before finally returning to and settling in Alpine in 1975. They lived there until 2005 when they moved back to New Braunfels. During their time in Alpine, Claudia worked for Alpine ISD as a nurse’s assistant at Alpine Central Elementary and then as the cafeteria director for the district that served all elementary, junior high, and high school students. She loved her time in the school especially once her grandchildren started school. She knew all the kids by name and could check off their names with speed and accuracy. She was respected and dearly loved by her coworkers and the students. She retired in 2001 and then she and Wilburn took to traveling in their RV. They traveled to Colorado, Arizona, Washington, Oregon, California, Idaho, South Dakota, Oklahoma, South and West Texas, and Mexico. Claudia’s hobbies included bird watching, scrapbooking, knitting, gardening, watching the local and national news, and reading magazines. Her magazine subscriptions kept the magazine business going. In her later years she loved going to garage sales with her sisters and her daughter, Kay Lynn.

Claudia was a devout Catholic. She prayed the rosary often and would light candles for family members going through difficult times. She was a loving wife, mother, grandmother, sister, aunt, and friend to all. Family was very important to her and she enjoyed spending time with them during holidays and summers. Claudia will be deeply missed by her family and friends.

She was preceded in death by her parents, and her siblings Phyllis Altwein, Loretta Henk, Kathy Hanover, and Chester Henk.

Those left to honor and cherish her memory are her children: Dwayne Zunker and wife, Ruth, of Houston, TX; Kay Lynn Goedecke of New Braunfels, TX; and Rusty Zunker and wife, Christy, of Round Rock, TX. She is also survived by her sister, Pauline Doege and husband, James, of New Braunfels, TX; her brothers-in-law, Walter Hanover and Robert Altwein, of San Antonio and New Braunfels, respectively; and her sister-in-law, Barbara Henk of New Braunfels, TX. She is also survived by her grandchildren: Nicole Zunker of Houston, TX; Kyle Zunker of New Braunfels, TX; Kendall and wife, Amanda, of Houston, TX; Courtney Ragland of Tucson, AZ; Noah Zunker of New York, NY, and Eli Zunker, of Round Rock, TX. Furthermore, she is survived by her great-grandchildren: Jackson and Mason Cox and Bailey and Tyler Zunker, along with numerous loving nieces, nephews, and cousins.

The Holy Rosary will be recited by Ms. Eva Sanchez at 10:00 a.m. on Thursday, April 11, 2024, at Our Lady of Perpetual Help Catholic Church in New Braunfels, TX. Funeral Mass, under the direction of Lux Funeral Home, will be held following the Rosary at 11:00 a.m. with Fr Angelot Galson as the celebrant. She will be buried at Saints Peter and Paul Cemetery. Serving as pallbearers will be grandchildren Nicole Zunker, Kyle Zunker, Kendall Zunker, Noah Zunker and Eli Zunker, and nephews, Chad Henk, Keith Hanover, and Ross Doege. Honorary pallbearer will be granddaughter Courtney Ragland.

The family would like to extend their sincere thanks to the staff at Gruene Senior Living for the care they provided Claudia. They would also like to thank all the family and friends who have shown their love and support during this difficult time. In lieu of flowers, please consider a donation to Hope Hospice of New Braunfels. May God bless you always.