To his students and colleagues, Tim Crunk was an educator and coach that stood out. Inside the classroom, he taught science and was a previous "Teacher of the Year" for his school. Outside, he was a winning baseball and softball coach who led his players to success.
"He was one of the best men I've ever been around," John Kelly, assistant principal at Kennesaw Mountain High School, told the AJC. "He was the kind of guy people wanted to be around. He made you a better person."
A longtime Cobb schools employee, Timothy "Tim" Ray Crunk, of Acworth, died Monday after suffering an apparent heart attack while running. He was 52.
Mr. Crunk had been an assistant principal and athletics director for Sprayberry High School for three years.
Before, he spent nine years at Kennesaw Mountain, where he was named Teacher of the Year in 2004 and led state runner-up teams in softball and baseball, respectively, the following two years. Prior to moving to Kennesaw Mountain, Mr. Crunk taught and coached for 10 years at South Cobb High School.
In recent years, Mr. Crunk had stepped aside from coaching and moved into school leadership, Kelly said. "He made the transition into administration flawlessly," Mr. Kelly said.
Beyond his work, Mr. Crunk was very involved with Cedarcrest Church, where he volunteered with the Haiti Education Project. Mr. Crunk and his wife, Leslie Cobb, had recently made two mission trips to Haiti, and Mr. Crunk ultimately hoped to open a school there, Mr. Kelly said.
Mr. Kelly said he last saw Mr. Crunk Monday evening at a meeting for a men's ministry the two were both involved in.
Mr. Crunk left around 8:15 p.m. with plans to go for a run, Mr. Kelly said. Later Monday night, Mr. Kelly said he got a phone call with the awful news.
In addition to his wife, Mr. Crunk is survived by daughters Hillary Crunk and Anastasia Crunk and son Corey Crunk, all of Acworth.
Visitation is from 4 to 8 p.m. Thursday at Marietta Funeral Home, 915 Piedmont Road. Funeral services will be held at 11 a.m. Friday at Piedmont Church, 570 Piedmont Road, Marietta.
In lieu of flowers, the family requests that donations be made to the Tim Crunk Memorial Fund at Wells Fargo Bank or to the Haiti Education Fund at Cedarcrest Church, 3950 North Cobb Parkway, Suite 201, Acworth GA 30101.
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