- Date Of Birth: October 22, 1919
- Date Of Death: January 26, 2009
- State: Indiana
Paul J. Hunckler, 89, Huntington died at 7:37 p.m. Monday, January 26, 2009 at Parkview Huntington Hospital.Paul John Hunckler was born to Charles and Josephine (Otten) Hunckler in Evansville, Indiana, on October 22, 1919. He attended Holy Cross Grade School in Indianapolis, spent one year at St. Meinrad Seminary, and graduated from Cathedral High School, Indianapolis in 1937.
Paul joined the Indiana National Guard and was inducted into the Army immediately after Pearl Harbor, 1941. He spent 58 months in service, including 30 months in Curacao, Netherlands Antilles in the Caribbean, serving guard duty over strategic oil refineries that supplied fuel for the African Campaign. He married Blanche Marie Sturm in Marion, Indiana on April 5, 1945 and began studies at the University of Utah.
He completed a B. S. in Mechanical Engineering in 1950 at Illinois Institute of Technology, in Chicago under the GI bill. After graduation, the Paul Hunckler family, including two children moved to Huntington, Indiana in 1950. Paul worked at Sturm Auto Parts in Huntington, where he designed a system to organize nuts and bolts, which solved a common problem for many mechanics. With this innovation, he founded Hunckler Products, Inc. in 1961, later named Pik-A-Nut Corporation. Paul is survived by his wife, Blanche Marie Hunckler, seven of his nine children, 30 grandchildren, and 14 great-grandchildren.
He was preceded in death by his parents, three siblings, Bernadette Yoder, Clarence and Charles Hunckler; two sons, Gregory and Joseph; one daughter-in-law, Sally (McNamara); and one great granddaughter, Angel. His descendents include: Charles Hunckler (spouse, Lisa) of Cincinnati, OH; Mary Kay Gleason (spouse, Daniel) of Minneapolis, MN; John Hunckler of West Lafayette, IN; Greg Hunckler, deceased 2000; Francis Hunckler (spouse, Melissa) of Huntington; Anne Hommes (spouse, Norman) of Corvallis, OR; Matthew Hunckler (spouse, Anita) of South Bend, IN; Joseph Hunckler, deceased 2001(spouse, Sally, deceased 1994); and Robert Hunckler (spouse, Andrea June) of Port Huron, MI.Charles Hunckler and Jean Terry’s children are Paul T. Hunckler, Laura King, Kathy Cahoon, Beth Thompson and Brad Hunckler. Mary Kay and Dan Gleason’s children are Mary Sennes, John, Kathryn, Laura and Joseph Gleason. John Hunckler and Deborah Axness’ children are Kindra, Matthew and Josephine Axness Hunckler.
Francis and Melissa Hunckler’s children are Sunni Hart, Jason and Samson. Anne and Norman Hommes’ children are Gabrielle, Paul, Maria, Phillip and Theresa Hommes. Matt and Anita Hunckler’s children are Jimmy, Michael, Eddie, Kevin, Julia, Karen and Joseph. Joe and Sally Hunckler’s daughter is Rachael Hunckler. Bob Hunckler and Andrea June’s daughter is Katie Hunckler.
