Lorenzo G. 'Ren' Runk | Doctor, musician, 70
Lorenzo G. "Ren" Runk, 70, of Lansdowne, a neurologist and musician, died of cancer Wednesday at home.
Lorenzo G. "Ren" Runk, 70, of Lansdowne, a neurologist and musician, died of cancer Wednesday at home.
A native of Philipsburg, Pa., Dr. Runk earned a bachelor's degree from Bethany College in West Virginia. He earned a medical degree from the University of Pennsylvania and completed a residency in neurology at the Hospital of the University of Pennsylvania, where he met Nancy Gordon, a nurse. They married in 1963.
After serving in the Air Force for two years in Alabama, Dr. Runk did clinical research at Graduate Hospital for three years before joining a neurological practice in South Philadelphia in 1972. He was associated with St. Agnes Medical Center, and Methodist, Mercy Fitzgerald, Misericordia and Thomas Jefferson University Hospitals. He retired when he became ill in 2001.
His great love was music, his wife said, and for 26 years he played the French horn with the Lower Merion Concert Band and also played with the Mansfield Brass Quintet. Even during his illness, his wife said, he continued to expand his knowledge of opera, jazz and medicine by listening to teaching tapes.
He enjoyed swimming and tennis when he was healthy, and annual family gatherings in Bethany Beach, Del.
In addition to his wife, Dr. Runk is survived by sons Timothy and Gregory; and three grandsons.
A memorial service will be at 2 p.m. today at First Presbyterian Church, 140 N. Lansdowne Ave., Lansdowne, Pa. 19050. Friends may call at 1:15 p.m. Memorial donations may be made to the church.