Gregory Alan Shank
Gregory Alan Shank
Marion
Gregory Alan Shank, 50, of Marion, Iowa, passed away unexpectedly by his own hand on Feb. 9, 2023. A celebration of life service will be held on Saturday, March 18, from 11 a.m. to 3 p.m. at Antioch Christian Church, 433 Cross Rd., in Marion with Pastor Jason Ishmael officiating. Greg was born in Iowa City on Dec. 28, 1972, to Sandy (Earle) Shank and Ron Shank. He was a natural athlete and excelled at any sport he had interest in, especially golf, where he was the Iowa High School Individual Golf Champion in 1990. After graduating from Iowa City High in 1991, Greg attended UNI and received an Associate’s Degree from Kirkwood. He then worked at Hy-Vee, Target, and Best Buy where his career took him to various locations in Iowa, Minnesota, and Wisconsin. Most recently, Greg lived in Marion where he worked for Quality Painting for many years and then, with his partner, Kim Vaicunas, started KG Painting to focus on quality workmanship and service to others.
Greg was fiercely protective of, and exceptionally proud of, his younger brother, Steve, who battled albinism and complications of Hermansky-Pudlak Syndrome throughout his life. He was also proud from afar of the accomplishments of his daughter, his niece, and his nephew. Greg loved his friends and family deeply and struggled greatly with the loss of first his mother, then his father, and finally his brother over the past 16 years.
Recently, Greg joined, and this past December, was baptized in, Antioch Church where he found a sense of community and comfort that guided him on a path of self-reflection and growth after his brother’s death in 2019. He possessed a natural charisma and was a friend of many who will undoubtedly be telling “Shank stories” for many years to come.
Greg is survived by his daughter, Mackenzy, whom he’d hoped to know better; his sister-in-law, Caren; and his niece and nephew, Ani and Elliott.
Greg was preceded in death by his mother, Sandy; his father, Ron; his brother, Steve; his maternal grandparents, Wayne and Genevieve Earle; and his paternal grandparents, Harold and Dorothy Shank.
Donations to help friends and family of Greg pay for funeral costs may be made at
https://gofund.me/fbaf96ea.
Memorial offerings may be made to the Hermansky-Pudlak Syndrome Network and the National Alliance on Mental Illness.