Dr. Richard Harold Konkel's Obituary
Dr. Richard Harold Konkel, a lifelong educator and academic leader, devoted husband and loving father, passed away in Longwood, Florida on March 11, 2026, with his family by his side. He was 95.
Dr. Konkel was born in Akron, Ohio to Arthur J. Konkel and Helen Konkel (née Warner) on December 22, 1930. He graduated from St. Vincent High School in 1948 and earned his undergraduate degree in philosophy from the Western University of London, Ontario. He then completed his theological studies at Mount St. Mary’s and was ordained a Roman Catholic priest of the Diocese of Youngstown in 1956. He earned his Ph.D. in higher education administration in 1971 from Bowling Green University.
Dr. Konkel married Dianne Tenaglia on November 27, 1968. They moved from Ohio to Florida, where their family grew with the addition of their two sons and two daughters. Dianne, his beloved wife of 57 years, passed away in December 2025.
His career as an educator began during his twelve years of priestly service, when he worked as a teacher and assistant superintendent of schools for the Diocese of Youngstown. Although he resigned from active ministry in 1968, his commitment to the Church and to education continued throughout the rest of his life.
After moving to Miami, Florida with Dianne, Dr. Konkel was part of the twelve-person team that created and implemented the master plan for Florida International University, which opened in 1972 and is now one of the largest universities in the nation. At FIU he served as a tenured professor, chair of the Philosophy and Religious Studies Department and founding executive director of the Southeast Florida Educational Consortium.
In 1981 he joined Dakota State College in Madison, South Dakota, where he served as dean of the college and then president, initiating the college’s first efforts to promote then-novel computer technologies. He and his family returned to Florida in 1985, where he spent more than a decade as an executive with Sylvan Learning Centers and later taught as a professor of ethics at Edison State College in Fort Myers.
Finally “retiring” in 2002, he continued his lifelong vocation of service. He read to the blind on the Radio Reading Service program on WGCU radio, participated on several school district and educational committees, including the Foundation for Lee County Public Schools, and volunteered as an assistant chaplain for Hope Hospice in Lee County.
Dr. Konkel is survived by his son Richard A. Konkel and his wife Kimberly of Dallas, Texas, and their son Evan; his son Mark A. Konkel and partner Alison Crawford of Dobbs Ferry, New York, and his children Ella, Amelia, Noah and Mia; his daughter Mary Beth Campbell and her husband John of Lake Mary, Florida, and their children Reagan and Ryan; and his daughter Jennifer Holliman and partner John Gavin of Fort Myers, Florida, and her children Michaela and Tyler.
A funeral mass and memorial will be held on April 11, 2026, at 12:00 p.m., at Fort Myers Memorial Gardens, 1589 Colonial Blvd, Fort Myers, FL 33907.
Dr. Konkel was a longtime supporter of Save the Children. Memorial contributions in his memory may be made here: https://support.savethechildren.org/site/Donation2
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