Richard Mason Bunker

1937 - 2014

PELHAM - Richard Mason Bunker, 77, of Pelham, and Old Orchard Beach, Maine, died Sunday, Oct. 19, 2014, at home after a five year battle with Alzheimers. He was the husband of Nancy Moonan Spencer and the son of the late Richard P. Bunker and Edythe F. Bunker.

Born in Farmington, Maine, Mason graduated with the class of 1955 from Wilton Academy. Upon graduating from the University of Maine Farmington with a bachelor's in 1959, Mason accepted a fifth grade teaching position in Lewiston, Maine.

In 1965, he received his masters in education from the University of Maine Orono and accepted a position to join the elementary education department of the University of Maine Gorham where he shared his love and enthusiasm for teaching with future teachers in training. He graduated from the University of Illinois Urbana with a doctorate of education in 1970. He then joined the faculty of the University of Massachusetts Amherst School of Education's Integrated Day Elementary Education Program.

As a tenured professor, Mason taught graduate courses in brain-based learning that applied principles from the emerging field of neuroscience to help teachers understand how young children learn, create, and process information. He served as a consultant to schools and organizations around the world including those in North America, Europe, China, Australia, and the Caribbean.

He received a number of awards and commendations for his work as an educator. Mason was awarded the University of Massachusetts Distinguished Teacher Award (1974), and a Hays Fulbright Grant to develop multi-cultural curriculum in Trinidad-Tobago and Surinam (1977). Mason also negotiated a faculty exchange program between the University of Massachusetts and Beijing Teachers College in China.

Mason had a deep love for music, dance and musical theatre that extended throughout his life. Those who knew him well remember him as a kind and thoughtful spirit who brought joy to those he touched through his humor and wit. In their own words, many of his students described him as a mentor and a friend who instilled in them a passion for life-long learning and compassion for all.

Mason leaves his wife Nancy Moonan Spencer his son W.J. Benjamin Bunker of Washington, D.C. He is also survived by his former wife Connie Bunker of Amherst, and their three children, Peter Bunker of Wildwood, New Jersey, Shelly Bunker Paige (wife of Thomas Paige) of Sunderland, and Renée Bunker of Portland, Maine. Mason will miss his grandson Nathaniel Paige. In addition, he leaves his brother Joel Bunker (wife Louise) and his brother Ronn Bunker, all of Farmington, Maine, and his Aunt Joan Bonney of Fairport, New York. His sister Bonnie Bunker Welch predeceased Mason in 1967.

His memorial service will be Sunday, Nov. 23, at 1:30 p.m. at the Amherst Woman's Club, 35 Triangle St., Amherst, MA.

In lieu of flowers, donations in memory of R. Mason Bunker may be made to the University of Massachusetts Amherst College of Education Dean's Scholarship and Fellowship Fund. Checks may be made out to the University of Massachusetts noting that the gift is made in memory of R. Mason Bunker and mailed to the Fund at UMass Amherst.

Donations to honor the memory of R. Mason Bunker may also be mailed to the MA/NH Alzheimer's Association, 480 Pleasant St., Watertown, MA 02472, or donations can be made at ALZ.org as a memorial gift honoring R. Mason Bunker.

Obituary and memorial register at www.douglassfuneral.com.

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