Samuel Gundy

Samuel C. Gundy, 92, of Lincoln Park, passed away on Friday, April 23, 2010 at home. Born in Reading, he was the son of the late Irvin G. Gundy and Catharine (Glass) Gundy. He was the husband of Mary E. (Dunkleberger) Gundy. The couple shared 66 years of marriage. He was a 1936 graduate of Reading High School, and received his B.S. in Science Education in 1946 from Kutztown State College. In 1953, he received a Masters Degree in Natural Science from Cornell University. He also attended Albright College, Temple University, and Colorado State University, the latter under a National Science Foundation Fellowship. He was a life member of both the Alumni Assoc. of Reading High School, and the Kutztown Univ. Alumni Association. He served in the United States Army during World War II, first as an Engineer with the 88th Heavy Pontoon Battalion, and with the U.S. Army Air Force as a Bomber Pilot, flying a B-17 Flying Fortress. He was a Prisoner of War for 15 months in Germany, and a recipient of the Purple Heart, the Air Medal with 3 Oak Leaf Clusters, and a Bronze Star. His post military involvement included being a member of the 388th Bomb Group Association, the 8th Air Force Historical Society, the American Ex-Prisoners of War, the Disabled American Veterans, the Smithsonian Air & Space, and the Mid-Atlantic Air Museum in Reading. He worked as a nature specialist and Supervisor of 32 playgrounds for the City of Reading Recreation Dept. from in 1939-40; was a teacher of Entomology, Vertebrate Zoology, and Ornithology for the Reading Public Museum, the Assistant Director for the Museum and Art Gallery from 1953-56, and the Director of the Museum from 1957-67; a teacher of Biology and Botany at Reading Senior High School from 1946-52; a member of the Ford Foundation Fellowship in 1952-53, under which he surveyed 85 museums in the United States, Canada, and Mexico; and Assistant Professor of Natural Sciences at Kutztown State College, where in 1981 he was declared Professor Emeritus. Other Memberships include the Hawk Mountain Sanctuary Association, a Field Chapter Charter Member of Phi Delta Kappa, the Kiwanis Club of Reading, honorary Member of the Berks Camera Club; the National and International Wildlife Federation; Green Valley Country Club; Camp Joy for Underprivileged Children; and served on the Board of Directors of the Boys' Home. He was an Honorary Life Member of the Baird Ornithological Club, the Mengel Natural History Society, the Berks Mineralogical Society, and the Reading Stamp Collectors Club. He served as leadership positions of many of the above organizations. He received the Paul Harris Fellowship award from The Rotary Foundation of Rotary International, an honor bestowed through his son Gregory. He was a naturalist, and published Along Nature's Trail, a weekly nature column in the Reading Eagle from 1968-82. He also was included in a Collection of First Person Accounts of World War II Airmen in the book "Through the Eye of the Needle". In later years, his students that wrote nature books dedicated them to Mr. Gundy. Other special honors include in 1968, when he received the medal of merit from the Latvian Free World Federation; the opportunity to open an Air War Museum in 1989 in The Netherlands, and in 1994, when he was appointed Director Emeritus of the Reading Public Museum and Art Gallery. He was a member of Lincoln Park Community United Methodist Church. In addition to his wife, he is survived by a son: Gregory Samuel Gundy, husband of Marilyn J. Gundy of Green Cove Springs, FL; and a daughter: Barbara Louise (Gundy), wife of Kerry "Smokey" Stover of Mohnton. There are also four grandchildren: Derek, Erin, Chad, and Josh; and two great grandchildren: Jaiden and Alexis.

In lieu of flowers, Memorial Contributions may be made to Hawk Mountain Sanctuary, 1700 Hawk Mountain Rd, Kempton, PA 19529; Heartland Hospice, 4 Park Plaza, Suite 105, Wyomissing, PA 19610; or the Lincoln Park Community United Methodist Church,&