Obituary for Frank C. Strunk Jr.
Frank Cheatham Strunk, Jr. was born July 28th, 1931, to Vessie Slaven and Frank Cheatham Strunk, in the town of Revelo, in the mountains of McCreary County, Kentucky, the fifth of eight children. Frank served the rank of PVT-2. Following the war, Frank returned to his beloved home and enrolled in Cumberland college and then attended the University of Kentucky where he received a bachelor’s degree in journalism in 1958.
On December 24, 1956 Frank married Barbara Jean Lay who predeaces him. He is survived by their three children, Valerie Ann Shea, Vanessa Lynn Strunk. and Frank Strunk, III, a nephew, Hap Strunk, and a sister, Carol Shook. In 1960, following the birth of his first child, Frank and Barbara moved to the Washington, D.C. area, where Frank worked for the National Rural Electric Cooperative. There, he worked with then Secretary of State Dean Rusk, taking electric co-ops to underdeveloped countries, traveling to Ecuador to start that country’s electrification. During this time, Frank also served as a speechwriter for President Lyndon B. Johnson and Vice President Hubert H. Humphrey. Some of the materials written by him were recently donated to President Johnson’s presidential library in Austin, Texas.
Following his work with the National Rural Electric Cooperative, Frank started his own printing and public relation’s business, Centurion Press and FCS Communications, which remained operating in Rockville Maryland for 60 years employing 30 employees during that time. Frank was a multi-talented musician and a virtuoso at the guitar, mandolin, and other instruments. Self-taught from a young age, Frank played bluegrass his entire life and formed music groups in Kentucky, Maryland, and later Florida, where he moved in 1985. In addition to his loved of music, Frank was a prolific reader and writer. While in Florida, he published four novels, “Jordans Wager,” “Jordans Shadow,” “Throwback,” and “Blood Personal.” At the end of his life, he returned to the northeast and was lovingly cared for by his three children, and his nephew, Hap Strunk.
Along with his parents and his wife, three brothers, Ottis H. Strunk, Robert Estill Strunk, and Kenneth Ray Strunk, two half-brothers, Douglas C. Strunk, and Jack Strunk, and one sister, Elizabeth Lou. precede him in death.
Frank was buried in his beloved Kentucky, with graveside services held Tuesday, September 21, 2021, at 1:00 pm in the Lower Hickory Grove Cemetery.
Hickman-Strunk Funeral Home was honored to serve the family of Frank Strunk.
On December 24, 1956 Frank married Barbara Jean Lay who predeaces him. He is survived by their three children, Valerie Ann Shea, Vanessa Lynn Strunk. and Frank Strunk, III, a nephew, Hap Strunk, and a sister, Carol Shook. In 1960, following the birth of his first child, Frank and Barbara moved to the Washington, D.C. area, where Frank worked for the National Rural Electric Cooperative. There, he worked with then Secretary of State Dean Rusk, taking electric co-ops to underdeveloped countries, traveling to Ecuador to start that country’s electrification. During this time, Frank also served as a speechwriter for President Lyndon B. Johnson and Vice President Hubert H. Humphrey. Some of the materials written by him were recently donated to President Johnson’s presidential library in Austin, Texas.
Following his work with the National Rural Electric Cooperative, Frank started his own printing and public relation’s business, Centurion Press and FCS Communications, which remained operating in Rockville Maryland for 60 years employing 30 employees during that time. Frank was a multi-talented musician and a virtuoso at the guitar, mandolin, and other instruments. Self-taught from a young age, Frank played bluegrass his entire life and formed music groups in Kentucky, Maryland, and later Florida, where he moved in 1985. In addition to his loved of music, Frank was a prolific reader and writer. While in Florida, he published four novels, “Jordans Wager,” “Jordans Shadow,” “Throwback,” and “Blood Personal.” At the end of his life, he returned to the northeast and was lovingly cared for by his three children, and his nephew, Hap Strunk.
Along with his parents and his wife, three brothers, Ottis H. Strunk, Robert Estill Strunk, and Kenneth Ray Strunk, two half-brothers, Douglas C. Strunk, and Jack Strunk, and one sister, Elizabeth Lou. precede him in death.
Frank was buried in his beloved Kentucky, with graveside services held Tuesday, September 21, 2021, at 1:00 pm in the Lower Hickory Grove Cemetery.
Hickman-Strunk Funeral Home was honored to serve the family of Frank Strunk.