Kennewick, WA?Long time Tri-Citian, Dr. Cornelius Connie F. Kuffel, passed peacefully with his family by his side on June 13, 2006. Born January 10, 1923 in Fargo, North Dakota, he grew up in Missoula, Montana. In his young adulthood Connie enjoyed hiking and fishing in the Montana wilderness. In this environment his appreciation of nature was conceived and continued to flourish throughout his life. After graduating from high school, Connie worked for the Northern Pacific Railroad until he joined the Navy to serve his country in WWII. During this time he held the rank of Radioman Second Class. While on leave in Atlantic City, New Jersey, Connie met Claire Parker whom he married upon his return from the war. Shortly after the passage of the GI Bill, Connie studied pre-med at the University of Montana and on June 13, 1953 he completed medical school at the University of Washington. From there Dr. Kuffel took a residency in radiology at Memorial Sloan-Kettering and subsequently moved to the Tri-Cities where he and his partners, Dr. Robert Hanf and Dr. David Edelman, founded Tri-City Radiology. Connie?s joy in life was his wife, family and friends; in them his love and memory will live forever. He will be especially celebrated for his kindness, his breadth of knowledge ??ask Dad; he?ll know!?, and his keen sense of humor. Preceding him in death were his parents, Francis and Daniel Kuffel and his brother, Norbert Kuffel. He is survived by Claire, his cherished wife of fifty-seven years, who showed her love and devotion everyday; his seven children: Kathleen and Michael Patton, Mark and Susan Kuffel, Susan and William ?Jay? Flynn, Diane and Kurt Grimmer, Colleen and Peter Parker, Sharonand Mark Deno, and Thomas and Debbie Kuffel; his twenty-two grandchildren: Travis Tucker, Michael Tucker, Daniel Kuffel, Nicholas Kuffel, Christopher Kuffel, Megan Kuffel, Kyle Flynn, Kevin Flynn, Joey Flynn, Ryan Grimmer, Lindsay Grimmer, Dain Grimmer, Sean Parker, Collin Parker, Cameron Parker, Jacob Deno, Kelsey Deno, Kara Deno, Marcus Deno, Matthew Kuffel, Steven Kuffel, and Katie Kuffel; his great-grand child, Tyran Tucker; his brother, Dr. Leonard Kuffel; and life-long friends Dr. Tom and Lois Jones. The Catholic faith was important to Connie and he lived it. He had a special devotion to the Blessed Mother Mary and prayed the rosary daily. As per his wishes, there will be a Rosary at Mueller?s Tri-Cities Funeral Home located at 1401 S. Union in Kennewick on Friday, June 16, 2006 at 7:00 PM. A Memorial Mass will take place at 10:00 AM on Monday, June 19, 2006 at Saint Patrick?s Catholic Church in Pasco. In lieu of flowers, Connie requested that memorial donations be sent to: Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center P.O. Box 19024, J5-200 Seattle, WA 98109-1024