Sheldon D. Runkle

Sheldon Runkle, 80, of South Bend, Ind., passed away peacefully on Saturday, October 4, 2025. He was a devoted husband, an affectionate father, cherished grandfather, mentor and friend, and his presence will be deeply missed by all who knew him.

He was born on June 22, 1945 in South Bend, and married the love of his life, Sandra Arndt in Clintonville, Wisc. on August 15, 1970. After graduating from the Acme School of Tool and Die Design, he became a tool and die engineer who designed precision tools, dies, and molds. Together, he and his wife had three children: Nathan, Marissa (Daniel Gebhard) and Seth, as well as one grandchild, Madelynn Gebhard.

In 1967, he was drafted to serve in the Army as a Military Policeman in Vietnam where he defended the U.S. Embassy. In March 1969, President Nixon awarded the Presidential Unit Citation to his unit, the 716th Military Police Battalion, for extraordinary heroism during the Tet Offensive, stating, “The Battalion employed aggressive police and combat tactics with the utmost skill and dispatch.”

Early in his career, he designed and invented key fixtures for the blowout preventer at Hydril Company, a Houston-based manufacturer of products for petroleum drilling and production. He also designed for Drilco Oil and Gas Corporation, a high-growth exploration, production, and drilling company in Houston, as well as Gray Tool and the Eaton Corporation. Throughout his career, colleagues remarked about his meticulous blueprints, the immaculate precision of his hand drawings, his expertise in materials and calculations and gift for writing explicit directions for tool and die makers.

A voracious reader and scholar, he carefully studied the Bible, developing a deep love for the truth found in God’s word and an appreciation that the church is the body of Christ. He attended the University of Houston, completing courses that interested him and later earning a Bachelor of Science in Organizational Leadership from Bethel College in Mishawaka, Ind. Before retiring, he taught trigonometry and other mathematics courses at Southwest Michigan College.

Throughout their 55 years of marriage, he and his wife visited every state together except North Dakota and Hawaii. While visiting their youngest son, Seth, in Minneapolis, the couple volunteered at Apostolic Bible Institute, Sandra’s alma mater, where he used his electrical expertise to support the college.

He was a member of the Ironwood United Pentecostal Church for nearly thirty years. Friends may visit on Thursday, October 9 from 3 to 6 p.m., followed by the funeral at 6 p.m.

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