Dr. Ronald Freeze Bunn, 88, of Columbia, Missouri passed away on Friday, July 27, 2018 at his home. A memorial service will be held at a future date; inurnment will be in Memorial Park Cemetery, Columbia, MO.
Bunn was born on August 11, 1929 in Jonesboro, Arkansas to S. Neal Bunn and Velma Freeze Bunn. His college education began in Memphis, Tennessee at Rhodes College where, in 1951, he received a Bachelor of Arts in Political Science. Bunn went on to study at Duke University in North Carolina, receiving his M.A. in 1953, and his Ph.D. in 1956. In 1954-1955, Bunn was a Fulbright pre-doctoral scholar studying at the University of Cologne in Germany, where he met and married his wife of almost 60 years, Rita Hess Bunn. Bunn returned to Germany in 1963 as a Fulbright research scholar; he was also named a NATO Senior Fellow in Science in 1973.
Bunn started teaching political science in 1956 at the University of Texas at Austin. In 1964, he took a position as associate professor of political science at LSU. In 1967, Bunn moved his family back to Texas where he served in multiple academic and administrative roles at the University of Houston, including Dean of the Graduate School and Interim Dean of the College of Arts and Sciences. In 1976, Bunn became the Vice President for Academic Affairs at the State University of New York at Buffalo. In 1980, Bunn was named Provost at the University of Missouri in Columbia, a position he held until 1986, when he returned to teaching political science and concurrently enrolled in law school at the University of Missouri in Columbia. Upon his graduation from law school, Bunn started practicing labor and employment law and, in 1992, became a partner in the Columbia law firm of Shurtleff Froeschner and Bunn, LLC where he worked until his retirement in 2000. In 2000, Bunn alsoretired from his teaching duties at the University, and subsequently was named a Professor Emeritus.
Bunn is survived by his three daughters, Robin (Adam) Popp of Watertown, South Dakota; Katharine Bunn (Mike Cusack) of Columbia; and Beth (Ed) Franks of Columbia. He is also survived by six grandchildren, Dakota (Shelby) Turrentine of Houston, Texas; Mihka (Joseph) Ponce of Houston, Texas; Garrett Popp of Watertown, South Dakota; and Ryan Franks, Kayla Franks, and Kyle Franks, all of Columbia; he is also survived by a sister Millye (William) McAtee of Lexington, Kentucky and several nieces and nephews.
In lieu of flowers, donations may be made in Ronald Bunn’s name to the MU Children’s Hospital, MU Health Care, Office of Advancement, One Hospital Drive, DC066.00, Columbia, MO 65212.
Online condolences may be left for the family at memorialfuneralhomeandcemetery.com.
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