DAVID EDWIN BUNCH

1943 - 2017

DAVID EDWIN BUNCH, 74, of Huntington, W.Va., went to rest in God's arms on Tuesday, October 24, 2017, at St. Mary's Medical Center. A Celebration of his Life will be held on Saturday, October 28, 2017, at noon at Fifth Avenue Baptist Church. The family will receive friends after 10 a.m. in Smith Hall at the church. He was born September 25, 1943, in Orlando, Fla., the son of the late Leland and Pauline Wiley Bunch. He graduated from Huntington High School and attended Marshall University, where he was introduced to his wife, Joyce Bandy, on a blind date. She was told that he looked like Tony Curtis. (Joyce thought he looked more handsome than Tony.) He and Joyce were married for 52 years. They had two children, a daughter, Jennifer Bunch (Richard) Marcum of Mobile, Ala.; a son, David A. Bunch of Parkersburg, W.Va. David also leaves behind two brothers, William G. Bunch of Huntington and L. Frederick (Beverly) Bunch of Milton, Del.; a sister-in-law, Carol Brown; two granddaughters, Courtney Lutz and Madisyn Bunch; special family friend, Cheryl Layne; and a host of extended family, friends and church family whom he loved. David served in the US Coast Guard aboard the USS Mackinaw. He was in the real estate business for more than 50 years, and he discovered and enjoyed the loons in Maine on his first vacation after retirement. He loved gardening, his fish pond, sitting on the swing watching the birds and piddling in his garage. He enjoyed and cherished his Friday Skeet shooting lunch buddies. David was also an exceptional cook, and one of his greatest joys was cooking for his family and friends. He baked and decorated the cake for his parents' 50th wedding anniversary. He loved entertaining and making people smile. He was a lifelong member (on the Cradle Roll) of Fifth Avenue Baptist Church where he was a former President of Homebuilders Sunday School Class. When his father, Leland, died in 1995, he had 74 years and 6 months of perfect Sunday school attendance. Dr. R.F. Smith proposed to David that if he would continue going to Sunday school for the next six months, Leland could be awarded with 75 years of perfect attendance. David accomplished that by attending his father's Sunday school class, the Hanley Morgan class, and later went on to teach the class. He was past president of the Huntington Board of Realtors, West Virginia Association of Realtors, Green Acres Foundation Board, Cabell County Library Board of Trustees and Guyan Golf and Country Club Trustee Board. He also served on the YMCA and Public Defenders Board of Directors. He was a former member of Huntington Rotary Club, Jaycees and founder of the Thursday Night Poker Club (T.N.P.C.). He was a member of Nights of the Mystic Sea with his buddies David Pancake and Bill McIlvain. When he was 15 years old, David won the Soap Box Derby in Huntington and went on to the Nationals in Akron, Ohio, of which he was very proud. More recently, he won the Scrabble Contest with friends in Lewisburg last year. He will be missed by all who knew him; he was a kind and gentle man who loved to be surrounded by family and friends. He enjoyed and loved his family, his church family, long phone conversations and living life to the fullest. Those who wish may make memorial contributions to Fifth Avenue Baptist Church, Sanctuary Sound System. Online condolences may be sent to the family at www.beardmortuary.com.