Mark Schunk

1922 - 2017

Schunk, Mark Died Thursday, January 26 at the age of 94. Mark was born on September 2, 1922 in the family farmhouse to Stanley and Florence (Hilborn) Schunk of Clare. As a young boy, Mark learned the art of farming, sparking a lifelong passion for working the land. On May 23, 1943, he married Ruth Strouse. They started their life together in a small white farmhouse across the road from the house where he was born, as Mark continued working on the family farm and Ruth started what would be a more than a 40 year career as a teacher. Mark and Ruth welcomed their son John on March 14, 1952. Mark would pass onto to John his love of farming and raising cattle. Together, they would grow Schunk Farms into a 560 acre operation, raising as many as 300 head of English Based cattle and shipping 24,000 bales of hay to racetracks and farms around country every year. Shortly before, Mark’s daughter Suann was born on May 1,1956, the family moved into a new, three-bedroom red brick home set on 80 acres of prime Clare County farmland. Over the six decades that Mark made his home there, it was a hub for family and farm activities, with grandchildren, farmhands and family friends constantly in and out and back to the field, especially during hay season. As he was raising his young family and running Schunk Farms, Mark went to work at Holley Carburetor in Clare. Mark worked at Holley for 12 years, building auto ignition systems for Detroit automakers. At Holley, Mark began friendships with many of his coworkers that would last his lifetime. Later, Mark and Ruth would retire, welcoming three grandchildren Travis and Ashley (Nash) Schunk and Whitney Lloyd and spending many winters near Walt Disney World so the grandkids could come visit. Mark was a generous and gentle soul who, as his wife Ruth described, had a certain magnetic quality that drew people to him. Anyone who has ever walked around the Clare County Fair with him can certainly attest to the many people eager to get a moment of his time! His proudest accomplishment was his family and he loved working at the farm with John, hearing the latest on the cattle market from Travis, visiting with Ashley and his great-grandchildren, passing on his love of horses to Whitney, looking after Suann’s dogs and taking Ruth to Big Boy every morning to get caught up on the restaurant gossip. Mark is survived by his wife Ruth Schunk, daughter Suann Lloyd, daughter-in-law Robyn Schunk, grandchildren Travis (Erika) Schunk, Ashley (Kyle) Nash and Whitney Lloyd, great-grandchildren McCoy and Axel Schunk and Colby and Lucchese Nash and brother Ron (Darlene) Schunk and sister Darylene (Ed) Pennington. He is preceded in death by his son John Schunk and son-in-law David Lloyd. A private funeral for immediate family has been held. Arrangements were handled by the Clare Chapel of Stephenson-Wyman Funeral Home. On-line guestbook at www.stephenson-wyman.com