04/15/2026
Gwen Griffith Bunnell, 93, passed away on April 13, 2026, holding the immense love, gratitude, respect and devotion of her family, and all who knew her.
Gwen Ivora was born in Glenside, Pa. to Carolyn Hobson Griffith and Dr. Ivor Griffith.
Gwen’s mother passed away when Gwen was three years old, and her father and then 18-year-old sister raised her with all the warmth and love one could ask for.
Gwen graduated from Cheltenham High School in Elkins Park, Pa. She loved her summers at Camp Redwing in New England where she was later a counselor who loved canoeing and swimming.
Gwen met Richard (Dick) Bunnell, who would love her with his whole heart for 68 years of marriage at Penn State University. Chi Omega sorority and Phi Gamma Delta fraternity friends brought them together. They made the perfect pair, with a mutual love and marriage to be emulated. After graduation, Gwen taught in a one room schoolhouse in Augusta, Georgia while Dick was stationed in the Army there.
The rest of their married life, they lived in Boalsburg, PA where they raised their family. Gwen was very involved in the community through Girl Scouts, 4-H, teaching Sunday school, the Boalsburg Heritage Museum, Boalsburg Memorial Day and the Boalsburg Village Conservancy. She volunteered at Boogersburg School as a tour guide and speaker dressed in period clothes with her antique trunk filled with items from the past. The Boalsburg Garden Club brought her so much fun and friendship, and she served on the Grace Lutheran Church Council. Gwen enjoyed an antique business with Dick at Apple Hill Antiques for many years.
Hundreds of State College Area School District children were fortunate to have Gwen as their teacher. Most of her years were spent teaching kindergarten at Corl Street. She was a beloved teacher, creative and dedicated to her children, and a mentor to many of her colleagues. She was awarded the Maroon and Gray Society Honor in 2025 by the SCASD Education Foundation for her exemplary career.
Before working for the district, she founded Grace Lutheran Nursery School in partnership with her dear friend Linda Domin.
Gwen was very proud of her Welsh heritage and shared her love of Wales with her family. She enjoyed her trips to Wales with Dick, her sister and brother-in-law over the years. There was a little glimpse of Wales in almost every room in her home.
Gwen enjoyed her retirement years with Dick, with summers spent at their beloved Canada cottage and winters at their Florida home.
Her most endearing quality was her love of family. She was the mother and Nain (grandmother in Welsh) that all dream of having. Gwen shared her talents, love for life, and was always sure to let all of her loved ones know how special they were to her. It is impossible to put into words what she meant to so many. Gwen was a true lady who was loved forever for her warmth, sunny personality, and for being the life of the party. She had a green thumb, growing flowers, a full vegetable garden, and sunflowers taller than herself. She wrote poems, drew and painted. She loved to take long bike rides, and to walk for miles.
Gwen is survived by her daughter Carol and husband Stephen Grim, her son Theodore Ivor “Tib” Bunnell and wife Mary Fogle, her sister-in-law Nancy Bunnell Franks and husband Jay. Gwen will be missed by her grandchildren Erin Grim McCombie and husband Esch, Andrew Grim, David Grim and wife Amy, Taylor Bunnell, and Madison Bunnell. Her great-grandchildren who loved her dearly, William, Gwen and John McCombie, Millie Ivora and Ainsley Grim, Ashton, Bentley, Mila, Ava, Tristan, Haley and Jax Bunnell.
Gwen was preceded in death by her parents, her sister Doris and her husband Frederick Schiller, her brother and sister-in-law Theodore and Betty “Tish” Bunnell, step granddaughters Liza Kocher and Kayte Derhammer, step great-grandson Koleton Derhammer, and her nephews Robert Schiller and Rodger Bunnell.
We have lost someone precious, the person we all strive to be like. Our mother, our Nain, the heart of our family.
A private family service will be held at the convenience of the family through Grace Lutheran Church and Pastors Scott Schul and Carolyn Hetrick
In lieu of flowers, to honor Gwen’s passion for education, memorial donations may be made to: The SCASD ED Foundation, The Gwen and Richard Bunnell Fund, 240 Villa Crest Drive, State College, Pa 16801.
Family and friends may send online condolences to bunnellfuneralhome.com. The Bunnell Funeral Home Inc., Millville is handling arrangements.
https://www.bunnellfuneralhome.com/obituary/Gwen-Bunnell
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