Friday, April 23, 2004

Obituary: Jan Strunk 1945-2004

For as long as anyone can remember, Jan Strunk wanted to be a nurse. Unable to complete that dream, she wanted to be a movie star – always her e-mail password. Family always came first though, inhibiting her from fulfilling either wish. Jan was the wife of former NBUA president Larry Strunk.

Jan and her family moved to Bothell, Wash in 1979. Jan was the consummate mom, always the PTA leader, room mother, team mom and friends to literally hundreds. Jan touched many lives of those families she helped as a hospice care person for several years throughout the Seattle area right up until she and her husband moved to Orlando, FL in October 2003. Jan loved her new home with swimming pool and backyard pond and had really settled in. Jan was a recovering alcoholic and suffered with that disease for many years right up until her passing.

She left home in the morning of April 6, to attend an AA meeting. Her daughter and granddaughter were visiting from California at the time. She never returned and a missing person report was filed. Her two sons from Seattle and a brother from Texas came to participate in the search. On Saturday, four days later, her brother and daughter found her in front of a restaurant two miles from home, curled up in the seat of her car as if she had just gone to sleep. She had died from an apparent heart attack.

Born April 13, 1945, Jan is survived by her husband of 41 years, Larry; daughter Kelly; sons Bret and Ryan; granddaughters Maya and Luna; and grandson to be, Sean. In addition, her mother, Mrs. Mildred Stanford; brothers Allan and Craig Bowersox and Larry Stanford; and sister, Sharon Maas, and their families. In addition, Jan has several nieces and nephews and many aunts, uncles and cousins across the U.S.

Never was there a person who met Jan that didn’t instantly love her. She was full of life, humor and friendship. Her love of family was unconditional. She will be missed terribly by all who knew her.
A memorial will be held on Saturday, May 1, at 1 p.m. at Blyth Park in Bothell, Wash. (weather permitting) followed by a celebration of Jan’s life held at the Best Western Hotel at 124th and I-405 in Kirkland. Please call her son Ryan at (206) 919-5776 for details. Remembrances may be made to Providence Hospice of Seattle, 425 Pontius N, Suite 300, Seattle, WA 98109.

Larry's email address:
lastrunk@earthlink.net or
Larry.Strunk@airtran.com