Glenn (Corky) Harris Gunnink

Glenn Harris Gunnink was born Feb. 1, 1948, to Gerrit J. and Henrietta (Menning) Gunnink. He was the 8th child born to the couple, who would have 10 children.  Glenn, who was known since a young age as Corky, attended Free Christian School through the 9th grade.

Glenn married Irene Samuelson on July 29, 1966, at the United Methodist Church in Lake Wilson. Throughout their life together, the couple made their home in Cottonwood, Bemidji, and Edgerton, Minnesota. They lived for a brief time in Michigan where Glenn sold pots and pans.

In 1980, he moved his family back to an acreage north of Edgerton where he and Irene milked cows and Glenn custom baled for a few years. But sales was in his blood, so he began working for Schaeffer Manufacturing as an oil salesman on Sept. 17, 1985. He enjoyed a long career with Schaeffer and loved his work.

Glenn was a member of the Edgerton Protestant Reformed Church, where he was baptized and made Profession of Faith. He served as both an elder and a deacon and on the school board at Free Christian School where his children were students.

Glenn was a fisherman and a hunter and passed a love for these things along to his children and grandchildren. He especially loved taking his grandkids fishing and hunting. He helped most of his grandchildren achieve their hunter’s safety certificate.

When Glenn was 14, he worked for Fred Stevens who taught him how to butcher animals. This was a skill that Glenn passed on to his wife, children, and grandchildren. Cleaning and eating what they caught – whether that be a rabbit or a walleye or a deer – was a principle that Glenn stressed to his grandchildren.

Glenn always enjoyed spending time having coffee with his group of friends from the Chandler area. He believed in Christian education and stressed the need to love God and work hard.

Glenn is survived by his wife of 56 years, Irene; five children, Shela Gunnink of Edgerton, Jeff and (Kris) Gunnink of Chandler, Daniel and (Dana) Gunnink of Edgerton,   Jill and (Michael) Fennema of Edgerton, and  Sarah and (Doug) Vlietstra of Kalamazoo, Mich; two sisters, Betty Jean (Harvey) Ross of Tucson, Arizona, and Julie Hanson of Denver, Colo.; four brothers: Bernard (Karen) Gunnink of Hardwick, Duane (Shirley) Gunnink of Grand Rapids, John (Kim) Gunnink of Edgerton, and Darwin (Peggy) Gunnink of Aztec, NM; two sisters-in-law Janet Gunnink of Apple Valley, and Arlene Hunsberger of Grand Rapids, MI; 17 grandchildren, five great grandchildren, and two step-great grandchildren.

He is preceded in death by his parents; three brothers: Art Gunnink, Jerold Gunnink, and Henry Gunnink; granddaughter Leah Grace Gunnink, and brothers-in-law Larry Hanson and Johnny Menning.

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