Russell Bungé

Russell Bungé On Sunday, October 6, 2019, Russell Bungé, loving friend, spouse, brother, and uncle, passed away at the age of 72. Russ was born on April 28, 1947, in Long Beach, CA, to Kenneth and Mona Bunge. He was a resident of San Luis Obispo, CA, for 46 years and is a descendant of Irene Beck, on his mother's side, whose family was one of the first five families to settle in Avila Beach, CA, in 1886. Russ held a Teaching Credential from CSU Cal Poly (SLO) and he received his M.A. from CSU Dominguez Hills and his B.A. from CSU Long Beach after graduating, with the class of 1965, from Huntington Beach High. Following his 1990 retirement from AT&T, after 17 years, Russ worked as a Web Page Designer in San Luis Obispo. July 18, 2003, Russ entered into a Domestic Partnership with Kelly Quiros, whom he met in 1981, and both were married in California on November 7, 2013. Russ had a passion for writing poetry. Two of his poems, "No One Knows You But I Shall Sing of You" and "Fragments of a Song", are published in "Assaracus Issue 16: A Journal of Gay Poetry" edited by Bryan Borland and Seth Pennington of Sibling Rivalry Press. Russ was nominated by Sibling Rivalry Press for the 2014 Pushcart Prize for his poem "No One Knows You But I Shall Sing of You" and was also nominated by the California Quarterly (CQ) for the 2016 Pushcart Prize for his poem "Avila Beach, 1911" (CQ Vol. 42, #2, pg 19). The "Assaracus Issue 16" is housed, for perpetuity, in the Library of Congress Rare Book and Special Collections Division. Russ regularly donated to his alma maters and was a founding member of the AIDS Support Network (now Access Support Network) in San Luis Obispo. A kind and compassionate individual, Russ liked to share his writing enthusiasm and interests with eager developing minds, but was also acknowledged by George Cotkin within "Dive Deeper: Journeys with Moby-Dick" and Don Wallis within "The Puppet Man: New & Selected Poems." Russ was preceded in death by his parents. He is survived by his spouse Kelly, sister Robyn, niece Kim, grandnephew, Joey, grandniece, Bianca, and dear family friend Heather. Viewing of the body will be between 9:45am and 10:45am on Saturday, November 2, 2019, at Wheeler-Smith Mortuary, 2890 S. Higuera Street, in San Luis Obispo, CA. A public graveside "Ceremony of Life" will be held between 11:15am and 12noon at the adjacent San Luis Cemetery. In lieu of flowers, please make an equivalent donation to your local food bank this holiday season.