Skip to main content

Paul J. Hunckler

Paul John Hunckler, 89, of Huntington, IN, died Monday, Jan. 26, 2009, at 7:37 p.m. at Parkview Huntington Hospital.

Mr. Hunckler was the founder of Hunckler Products, Inc., a Huntington company which was later renamed as Pik-A-Nut Corporation. He founded the company in 1961 when, while working at Sturm Auto Parts in Huntington, he designed a system to organize nuts and bolts, solving a common problem for many mechanics.

Mr. Hunckler was a 1937 graduate of Cathedral High School, Indianapolis. He joined the Indiana National Guard and was inducted into the Army in 1941, immediately after the attack on Pearl Harbor, and spent 58 months in service. He served for 30 months in Curacao, Netherlands Antilles in the Caribbean.

He studied at the University of Utah and completed a bachelor's degree in mechanical engineering at the Illinois Institute of Technology, Chicago, in 1950, the same year he moved to Huntington.

He was a member of SS. Peter and Paul Catholic Church, the St. Vincent de Paul Society and the Holy Name Society. He was a member of Knights of Columbus Council 1014 and a Fourth Degree member of the Bishop Noll Assembly. He had served on the founding board of Pathfinder Services and the boards of the Huntington University Foundation and Huntington Catholic High School. He was a member of the financial board of the Fort Wayne-South Bend Catholic Diocese under bishops William E. McManus and John D’Arcy.

He had served as industrial division chairman for the United Way of Huntington County, was active in the Christian Family Movement and co-founded the Starlite Dancers. He was named a Chief of the Flint Springs Tribe in 1984.

Mr. Hunckler was born Oct. 22, 1919, in Evansville to Charles and Josephine Otten Hunckler. He married Blanche Marie Sturm on April 4, 1945, in Marion. His wife survives.

Also surviving are two daughters, Mary Kay (Daniel) Gleason, of Minneapolis, MN, and Anne (Norman) Hommes, of Corvallis, OR; five sons, Charles (Lisa) Hunckler, of Cincinnati, OH; John Hunckler, of West Lafayette; Francis (Melissa) Hunckler, of Huntington; Matthew (Anita) Hunckler, of South Bend; and Robert (Andrea June) Hunckler, of Port Huron, MI; 30 grandchildren, Paul T. Hunckler, Laura King, Kathy Cahoon, Beth Thompson, Brad Hunckler, Mary Sennes, John Gleason, Kathryn Gleason, Laura Gleason, Joseph Gleason, Kindra Axness Hunckler, Matthew Axness Hunckler, Josephine Axness Hunckler, Sunni Hart, Jason Hunckler, Samson Hunckler, Gabrielle Hommes, Paul Hommes, Maria Hommes, Phillip Hommes, Theresa Hommes, Jimmy Hunckler, Michael Hunckler, Eddie Hunckler, Kevin Hunckler, Julia Hunckler, Karen Hunckler, Joseph Hunckler, Rachael Hunckler and Katie Hunckler; and 14 great-grandchildren.

A Mass of Christian burial was held Saturday, Jan. 31, 2009, at SS. Peter and Paul Catholic Church, Huntington, with Rev. Ron Rieder officiating.

Preferred memorials are gifts to SS. Peter and Paul Catholic Church, Huntington County Right to Life or the charity of the donor's choice in care of McElhaney-Hart Funeral Home, 715 N. Jefferson St., Huntington, IN 46750

Online condolences may be sent through www.mcelhaneyhartfuneralhome.com.