Richard Louis Brunstetter, Sr Obituary (2025)

Rev. Richard Louis Brunstetter Sr. passed from this earth to his heavenly home on July 25, 2025 in Yakima, WA, where he was a resident. Born March 22, 1944 in Easton, Pennsylvania to Frederick and Dorothy Brunstetter. Family members still living: Wife, Wanda E. Brunstetter of the home; Son, Richard L. Brunstetter, Jr. (Jean), of Yakima, WA; Lorine Van Corbach (William), of Parma, ID; 6 grandchildren: Jinell Betancourt (Ricardo), Daunivan Held (Eric), Rebekah Duarte (Jose), Richard Brunstetter III, Philip Brunstetter, and Richelle Brunstetter; and great-grandchildren, Ezekiel Durarte, Joselyn Duarte, Kira Betancourt, and Mordecai Duarte . Preceded in death by mother, Dorothy Brunstetter; father, Frederick Brunstetter; Siblings: Rev. Charles Brunstetter; Frederick Brunsetter; Kenneth Brunstetter; Barry Brunstetter; and Donald Brunstetter. Siblings still living: James Brunstetter, of Bethlehem, PA; Robert Brunstetter of Souderton, PA; Terry Brunstetter, of Souderton, PA; Bonnie Steuer of Easton, PA and Doreen Casella of Easton, PA. Richard Sr. was born and raised in Easton, PA, attended school there until 1962 when he joined the Army. Feb. 8, 1963, married Wanda Cumby while he was stationed at Ft. Lewis, WA. The Brunstetters lived in Tacoma until 1985 where he worked as a painter, then moved to Yakima, WA in 1985. They lived there until he got the call to pastor a church in Troy, ID in Oct. 1991. Moved to Wapato, WA in Jan. 1997 to pastor the Nazarene church there and retired from the ministry in Dec. 2010, moving to Yakima, WA. After his retirement Richard began doing free-lance photography of various Amish communities around the country. His work has been featured in two coffee table books and two perpetual calendars. At the time of his death, Rev. Brunstetter had been attending West Valley Missionary Church in Yakima, where he played his guitar on the worship team. He was also a member of the Fellowship of Christian Magicians for many years, and often made twisty balloon animals for children at various functions. In Richard's free time, he played the guitar and harmonica and enjoyed beach-combing, gardening, and spending time with his family. In lieu of flowers, donations may be made to the West Valley Missionary Church in Yakima, WA. A memorial service will be held on Saturday, August 16th at 11 a.m. at the West Valley Missionary Church, 11107 Wide Hollow Road,, Yakima, WA 98908. There will be a light lunch provided at the church immediately following the service.