Obituary of Faye Ann Bunk

LITTLE FALLS - Faye Ann Bunk passed away peacefully, embraced by the love of her husband and her Lord, on Thursday, September 19, 2019, at Little Falls Hospital.  She recently celebrated her seventieth birthday.

Faye was born in Little Falls, on September 1, 1949, to Fritz and Shirley (Steinberg) Urich.  She graduated from Little Falls High School, Class of 67 and Herkimer County Community College.  In her younger years, she worked at Mohawk Data Sciences/Momentum Technologies and Salada Foods where she made many lifelong friends of all ages.  Although the longest span of her working life was as bookkeeper for Little Falls Construction.

Faye was married to her husband, George Bunk, in a secret ceremony at Runaway Bay, Jamaica, on April 11, 1990, the fifth anniversary of their first date.  Many were amazed at her ability to keep that secret until their second wedding several months later, on July 28, 1990, in Little Falls, surrounded by family and friends.  From that day forward, she required that she and George celebrate both anniversaries every year.  They were happy to have found each other, not only for the passionate love they shared but also for the deep friendship that continued to grow over the years.

Faye faced many health challenges but never complained about the hand she was dealt.  Treatments and healing times were just brief stops along the journey for her.  She was a three - time cancer survivor, having first been diagnosed in 1988.  She was proud of her inclusion in a published medical journal article as “Patient No. 19”.  Her ability to recover from these devastating illnesses and emerge in such a positive frame of mind was truly remarkable.

Faye dedicated much of her adult life to the rescue and protection of animals.  She was a founding member of Community Animal Programs, but with a different vision of what animal rescue could be, she, along with two friends of like mind, started the Helping Animals Live Organization.  through the dedication of a committed group of volunteers, HALO is Faye’s lasting legacy.  As her health failed over the past two years, knowing that others have successfully kept HALO in operation has been a great comfort to her.

Faye was blessed to have received the best medical care,  Dr. Arthur Levy, of New Haven, Connecticut, along with his colleagues and support staff made the last 31 years possible.  More recently, she received excellent care at Bassett Medical Center and Little Falls Hospital.  We are forever grateful for the kind, compassionate care given to Faye at home by Eunice and Debbie over the past year.

Faye is survived by her loving husband, George; brothers, Fred Urich (Elaine Cobb) and Gary Urich (Cindy Campione); stepdaughters, Amanda Hamed, in San Francisco and Leila Hauck and family, in Salem, Massachusetts; nephews, Eric Urich and Christopher McGowan (Ashley); grand-nephew, Austin McGowan; and in laws, Barbara and Danny Mavragis, Georgia Drinkwater, Cathy Sullivan, and Jeff and Donna Bunk.

She was predeceased by her parents, Fritz and Shirley Urich; her nephew, Phillip Bladek; and her in laws, George and Pierina Bunk, Marylou and Jake Petronzio, and Peter Drinkwater.

In lieu of flowers, donations can be made to HALO, 615 Albany Street, Little Falls, NY 13365.

Funeral services are Tuesday, September 24, 2019, when her Mass of Resurrection will be celebrated at 10:00 AM at Emmanuel Episcopal Church, 588 Albany Street, Little Falls, NY, with interment to follow at St. Mary’s Cemetery, Town of Herkimer, New York. Friends and family alike are invited to attend calling hours at The Enea Family Funeral Home, 24 West Monroe Street in Little Falls, on Monday, September 23, 2019, from 4PM until 7PM.

Anyone wishing to share a memory of Faye, or add to her online memorial, may go to www.eneafamily.com on the Internet.

Faye’s funeral arrangements are with Funeral Directors Harry J. & Kevin E. Enea and Martin L. Ciaccia, (315) 823-2424.