Alan “Al” Strunk was born in December of 1944 in Astoria, Oregon. Shortly after, he moved to Santa Maria, California. During his youth, Al spent several summers with family in Morro Bay, where he was in the Sea Scouts, thus his love of sailing was born. Al graduated from Santa Maria High School in 1962. He served in the U.S. Navy and is a veteran of the Vietnam War. Al graduated from University of California at Santa Barbara with a bachelor’s degree in drama and dramatics/theatre arts in 1971.
After earning his bachelor’s degree, Al began teaching drama and stagecraft at Santa Barbara High School, until the administrators and parents got the best of him. He went on to study Theatre Literature, History, and Criticism at California State University at Humboldt and earned a master’s in fine arts in directing and theatre production from Tulane University in New Orleans, Louisiana.
Al’s career in theatre spanned decades. Aside from directing numerous plays, Al was the stage manager at the Saenger Theatre and Le Petit Théâtre du Vieux Carre in New Orleans. He also freelanced several large projects such as the annual New Orleans Jazz and Heritage Festival and the 1984 Louisiana World Exposition. After his return to California in 1987, Al became the technical director for the Western Stage at Hartnell College in Salinas, California. He stayed at the Western Stage, where he worked with his wife, daughter, and numerous adopted theatre kids, until 1996.
After retiring from theatre, Al began his first “straight job” in the assessments division of CBT/McGraw Hill. He quickly worked his way up with McGraw Hill and was transferred to open a scoring center in Indianapolis, Indiana in 1997.
Al returned home to California, this time for good, in 2004. After a year in Monterey, he landed in Los Osos, California, where he lived out an active retirement, feeding his creative soul through photography and writing.
Al started his first company, Images From Al’s Trunk, and sold greeting cards featuring his photography throughout the Central Coast.
Al self-published two novels. The first was the high seas saga, “Pacific Sail.” The second was murder mystery/love letter to New Orleans, “French Market Mayhem: An Early Times New Orleans Murder Mystery.” Al also published a collection of Facebook posts and comments in “Quarantine Quickies: Pandemic in Paradise.” In addition to his published books, Al contributed short stories to the online forum Medium and posted a popular daily column on Facebook.
Al dedicated his retirement to service to others. He was a chaplain for the Salinas Veterans of Foreign Wars chapter. After moving to Los Osos, he became active in the Kiwanis Club, serving in several roles including Bay Osos Club president and district lieutenant Governor.
Al continued to live an active and vibrant life until shortly before his death. He died peacefully and without pain on Thanksgiving Day, November 28, 2024. His wife and daughter were by his side.
Al leaves behind his loving wife, Myra (Bollinger), daughter, Erin Dal Porto (Strunk), granddaughter, Ella Dal Porto, brother, Joe Strunk, sister-in-law, Debra Strunk, nephew, David Strunk, niece, Joanna Iund (Strunk), great-niece Eloise, and great-nephew Teddy. He also leaves behind Miss Odette the cat, who loved him dearly. Al was preceded in death by his mother, Ella Jo Strunk (Taverner), father, Joe Ross Strunk, and his sisters, Pam and Marcella.
A celebration of life will be held at Sea Pines Golf Resort on December 14, 2024, from 1 – 4 p.m. In lieu of flowers, please consider donating to your local Kiwanis Club.
