John Junkala, 82, of Framingham died at home on November 8, 2012 after a short illness.
He was the son of Waino J. and Gertrude E. (Leppala-Stacevich) Junkala. He leaves his wife of 54 years Marlene (Mahan) Junkala, two daughters, Julia Junkala of Harvard and Jill Junkala of Leominster, one son, Jonathan Junkala of Lakewood, Colorado, and a granddaughter, Elena Junkala of Harvard, whom he greatly adored. He also leaves two sisters, Mrs. Anita LeClair of Moreno Valley, California and Mrs. Mary Anne Mathieu of Leominster, and two brothers, George Junkala of Lyndeborough, NH and Walter Stacevich of Manchester, NH. Born in Roxbury, he was raised in Fitchburg and graduated from Fitchburg High School in 1948. During the Korean War he was a sergeant in the First Cavalry Division during which he was awarded three Bronze Stars. He graduated from Fitchburg State Teachers College in 1956 and was a special education teacher in Springfield, MA for six years. He received his master’s degree from Boston University in 1958, and his doctoral degree from Syracuse University in 1965. After two years as an assistant professor at Syracuse University he taught at Boston College for 30 years, retiring from the Lynch School of Education in 1996 as an associate professor of special education. During his tenure at Boston College he spent two years working for the University of Michigan in Germany as resident coordinator of a special education curriculum project for the Department of Defense overseas schools for dependent children. He visited and consulted with DOD schools in Germany, England, Spain, Morocco, Japan, and the Philippines. Back in the U.S. he consulted with special education programs over much of the country. He co-authored two books in his field and published numerous articles in education, psychology, and computer instruction journals. He was a member of the Appalachian Mountain Club and spent parts of many summers working as a volunteer on trail maintenance crews in the White Mountains, the Berkshires, and the Adirondacks. A graveside service will be held at St. John’s cemetery in Lancaster, MA on Saturday November 24th at 11 a.m. In lieu of flowers, donations may be made to The American Heart Association, 20 Speen St., Framingham, MA 01701. Remembrances can be entered at www.casperfuneralservices.com.