Eleanor Strunk

Strunk, Eleanor 11/5/1931 - 4/28/2022 Kalamazoo On Thursday, April 28, 2022, Eleanor Alice Strunk of Kalamazoo, loving mother, grandmother, and great-grandmother went home to her Lord at the age of 90. Eleanor was born on November 5, 1931 to Ida (Kasischke) and John Strunk. One of four siblings, Eleanor grew up in Benton Harbor, Michigan before attending the Bronson School of Nursing where she earned her Bachelors of Nursing Degree. Eleanor worked as a nurse in Kalamazoo at both major hospitals in the area, Bronson and Borgess. Following a career spanning 43 years, she retired from Borgess as the head of Infection Control, a position she cherished. During her tenure at Borgess, she also volunteered for CARES (Community AIDS Research & Education Services). As a working mom, Eleanor also raised three daughters, Julie, Lisa, and Lori. Eleanor was passionate about her "Germans from Russia" heritage – a passion shared by her daughters Julie and Lori. Eleanor conducted extensive research into the genealogy of her family. She even travelled to Europe to track down extended family members and vital records. She also authored and presented a paper on the topic to the Michigan Chapter of Germans from Russia in the early 1980s. Eleanor often shared stories and anecdotes of her ancestors with family and friends, frequently recounting their roles during important events in history. When she wasn't relating anecdotes about the family, she was sharing stories of significant advances in the medical field that occurred during her 43 year tenure, including her time working with CARES. Eleanor had a love of literature and music, especially the classical composers. She was a voracious reader, and could often be found with a book in hand with Rachmaninov or Tchaikovsky playing in the background. She also loved knitting which helped inspire her daughter Julie and granddaughter Jessica to take up crochet. A devout woman of faith, Eleanor was a long-time parishioner at Zion Lutheran Church in Kalamazoo and was pursuing the Deaconate until health and circumstances prevented her completing the program. Nonetheless, she remained steadfast in her faith and was just as apt to be found with the Bible in her hands as one of her novels. In fact, she read the bible daily right up until her last few days. Outspoken in her convictions, and unafraid to share her expertise, Eleanor often "assisted" the staff at her nursing home with advice on how best to care for her. Always good-natured about it, Eleanor was lovingly referred to as "Queen Ellie" by her caregivers, a title they all said they aspire to in their older years! Eleanor was preceded in death by her father, John Strunk, her mother, Ida Sempert, her sister, Rosalie Hosbach, as well as son-in-law Gary Rickli. She is survived by her siblings, John (Gwen) Strunk and Esther Diez; her three daughters, Julie (David) Cramer, Lisa Rickli, and Lori (Edd) Allard; her four granddaughters, Jamie Cramer, Natasha (David) North, Jessica (Jordan) Pacillo), and Gabrielle Allard; one great granddaughter, Ellana Quin North; and several cousins, nieces, and nephews. A Christian funeral service will be held on Saturday, May 21st, 2022 at Zion Lutheran Church, 2122 Bronson Blvd., Kalamazoo, MI 49008. While flowers are welcome, the family also asks you to consider donating to Eleanor's favorite charity, St. Jude Children's Research Hospital, 262 Danny Thomas Place, Memphis, TN 38105.