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Rudolph Kinzel of Nokomis, Fla., formerly of Buchanan, passed away on Wednesday, Aug. 3, 2011.
Rudolph was born on September 26, 1929 in Peekskill, N.Y. to Otto and Mary (Gmelch) Kinzel. He attended Hendrick Hudson High School and then enlisted in the Navy. He was a proud Navy Korean War Veteran. Rudolph worked for Con Edison (Indian Point) as a Chem Tech, retiring in 1991, after 20 years of service.
Kinzel was a Korean War Veteran, but he spent the next several years in Germany during World War II as a civilian. Kinzel went to visit Germany in 1939 with friends of his parents, and when he and his older brother Otto were planning to leave, he was told by German authorities that if your parents are German, you are German too, according to his wife of 35 years, Helen E. Kinzel.
Kinzel, then only 10-years-old, spent the next four years in Germany, forced to pick up the language and attend school. His brother died tragically after their third year in Germany together, and in eighth grade, Kinzel was sent to an aeronautics school in Germany. Hearing the Russians were headed into east Germany, where the school was located, Kinzel and his friend decided to make a run for it.
The two later learned they had averted disaster, as many of the people who stayed were killed. Stopping in abandoned buildings and farmhouses to sleep and work for food, the two travelled west in freezing temperatures to escape the destruction behind them.
Kinzel finally arrived home one year after the war in July 1946.
Kinzel graduated from Hendrick Hudson High School and went on to serve in the Navy during the Korean War.
He is survived by his beloved wife of 35 years, Helen E. (Bourdette) Kinzel, loving children, Robert A. Kinzel, Ivy Ast, Susanne Nika and Gary Nika. He is also survived by his adoring grandchildren, Kristine Kinzel, Jason Ast, Matthew Ast, Walter Traub, Jr. and Steven Traub. He was predeceased by his brother Otto Kinzel. Rudolph was a kind man and will truly be missed by his friends and family.
His wife writes triumphantly that I am happy to say that Rudy had a good life after all the tragic experiences in Germany during World War II. We were married for 35 happy years. I will miss him very much!
Visitation will be held on Tuesday from 7 to 9 p.m. at the Edward F. Carter Funeral Home, located at 170 Kings Ferry Road, Montrose. Funeral Services will be held on Wednesday at 10:00 a.m., also at the funeral home. Entombment will follow at Hillside Cemetery in Cortlandt Manor.
In lieu of flowers, memorial contributions in Rudolphs name can be made to the Tidwell Hospice, 210 Wexford Blvd., Venice, Fla. 34293. To read the complete obituary and express your condolences online, please visit: www.efcarter.com .
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