Cynthia “Cindy” Ann Gonnering (nee Curry) of the Town of Kewaskum, died peacefully at Kathy Hospice on Wednesday, Oct. 7, 2026 at the age of 86 years.
She was born May 17, 1940, in Kansas City, MO, to the late Edward and Patricia (nee O’Donnell) Curry.
On May 7, 1960, she was united in marriage to John Beck Gonnering in Jacksonville, FL.
After living in various cities in Missouri and Kansas, Cynthia moved with her parents and sister to Jacksonville, FL, in 1955, where she graduated high school in 1957. It was while attending Jacksonville University that she met John. After their marriage, they lived in Denver, CO, while John was in an Air Force school. They were then transferred to San Angelo, TX, until the completion of his tour of duty in 1963. They then moved back to West Bend, John’s home town.
Cynthia went to work for The First National Bank and rose to the position of Assistant Trust Officer. After 18 years at the bank, she decided to go back to school to become an interior designer. She enrolled at Mt. Mary College, and by attending summer school as well as the regular terms, she graduated in 1981 with a double major, one in Interior Design and one in Art.
Upon graduation, she began working as an independent designer with Lise Lawson Interior Design in Fox Point, working in both residential and commercial design. Over the next 15 years, some of her projects won awards and were published in various publications. A project that gave her great satisfaction was doing (on a voluntary basis) all the interior design for the construction of Hope House, a homeless shelter in Milwaukee.
She and John moved to Kewaskum in 1998, where Cindy became very involved in her church, Holy Trinity, volunteering her time on the decorating committee and ushering at Mass.
Since retiring, she enjoyed many hobbies including gardening, reading, quilting, traveling (especially her trips to Ireland to find family) and various techniques of painting – oil, pastels, pencil, inks and her favorite, watercolor.
She is survived by her beloved husband of 66 years, John; sister, Patricia King Warren (John) of Jacksonville; nieces and nephews, Kimberly Fichte and Christy King of Jacksonville, FL, Davide King, Jill (Steve) Bushor of St. Paul, MN, and John (Cindy) Johnson of Savage, MN; great-nieces and great-nephews, great-great-nieces and great-great-nephews; other relatives and many wonderful friends who gave her great joy.
Those who have gone before her are her parents; her parents-in-law, Jerry and Gladys Gonnering; and sister-in-law, Donna Gonnering Johnson (Al) of St. Paul, MN.
Visitation will be held on Holy Trinity Catholic Church in Kewaskum on Thursday, Oct. 15, from 10 until 11:15 a.m. with a Mass of Christina Burial at 11:00 a.m. Burial will follow in Holy Angels Cemetery, West Bend.
In lieu of flowers, the family have requested memorials to Holy Trinity School.
John and all of Cindy’s family would like to extend a sincere and heartfelt thank you to the staff and volunteers at Kathy Hospice for their compassionate care and support.
The Schmidt Funeral Home of West Bend is serving the family. Messages for the family may be left in an online guestbook at www.schmidtfuneralhome.com.
