"An 11-month struggle for life while waiting a kidney transplant ended Thanksgiving Day - nine hours after the vital operation. Mrs. Vera Kunkler's death in Akron City Hospital was unexpected. The new kidney she had just received had begun functioning. There was hope for Mrs. Kunkler, 52, who had been kept alive 11 months with the beat of a kidney dialysis machine. She waited for a donated kidney, pinning her hopes on the Committee of Donor Enlistment (CODE). Wednesday night a kidney was flown by helicopter from Cleveland, and Mrs. Kunkler underwent a three-hour operation, ending near midnight. The kidney was provided by CODE. According to the family, the transplanted kidney began functioning. But fate stepped in in {sic} another way. About 9 a. m. Thursday, Mrs. Kunkler died. The family said the cause of death had not been determined, but it might have been her heart. An autopsy was planned. 'Mother always had hope,' said her daughter, Karen, 20.
Mrs. Kunkler lived at 1962 Far View rd., Green Twp. Her husband, Ralph, works at Goodyear. Mrs. Kunkler became ill about 11 months ago. It later was discovered that both her kidneys were irreparably damaged, and both were removed. With about 30 others in the Akron area, she waited for a new kidney to be donated from someone who had died. CODE, formed to promote organ donations, came to her aid. CODE is a Cleveland-based organization but its operations include the entire Akron area. Mrs. Kunkler was a life resident of Akron. She also leaves her mother, Mrs. Anna Nollan, and a brother, Donald Nollan, both of Akron. Services will be at 1 p. m. Monday in Schermesser funeral home. Burial will be in Greensburg cemetery. Friends may call from 7 to 9 p. m. Saturday and 2 to 4 and 7 to 9 p. m. Sunday."
Akron {OH} Beacon Journal, Friday, November 28, 1969, p. B18