Frank Edward Brunings, 69, of Salinas, California, passed away on May 7, 2021. Frank lived a life of honesty, generosity, humor, curiosity, compassion, loyalty, and love. He had a keen and fearless mind that embraced knowledge, facts, and a good argument, especially when it came to religion and social justice. Frank enjoyed African drumming, music, nature, philosophy, backpacking, working on projects around the house ("proof of concept" was his favorite phrase), and spending time with friends and family.

Frank was born on August 22, 1951, in Surabaya, Indonesia (then the Dutch East Indies), of mixed Dutch, Indonesian, and Chinese ancestry, to Jeanette Caroline (Rupp) Brunings and Willebrodes Johannes Brunings. His family emigrated to The Netherlands in 1955 to escape political upheaval and racism in their home country. After a few very cold winters in The Netherlands, his family emigrated to the United States (San Francisco) in 1960. Frank graduated from San Francisco's premier public school—Lowell High School—in 1969. He earned a bachelor's degree in environmental planning from Sonoma State University in 1973 and a master's in City and Regional Planning from the University of California, Berkeley in 1979.

Frank worked from the age of 12, starting as a shoeshine boy San Francisco's financial district, then selling magazine subscriptions and delivering newspapers, and finally working at an auto repair garage in high school. He put himself through college and graduate school by working various jobs including swing shifts at a meat packing plant and early morning duties at a horse stable. He was energetic, entrepreneurial, and optimistic.

He served as a VISTA volunteer to give back to his adopted country and was placed in a neighborhood planning job In Honolulu, Hawaii, where he earned praise from local community leaders for his work on behalf of low-income communities. He met and became friends with Neil Abercrombie, then a member of the Hawaii House of Representatives and later a U.S. Congressman and Governor of Hawaii. Frank was proud of the glowing letter of recommendation written by Representative Abercrombie as part of his application to UC Berkeley.

After graduating from UC Berkeley in 1979, Frank moved to Salinas to work for Monterey County, where he brought his unique, multicultural, immigrant perspective and keen intellect to task as part of the Monterey County General Plan Update team. He authored the Plan's Housing Element, adopted in 1982 and lauded for its far-sighted goals to serve citizens most in need of affordable housing, especially migrant farmworkers. He was uniquely gifted in bringing top business and community leaders in Monterey County together to support the Board of Supervisors' adoption of one of the first Inclusionary Housing policies in California. Frank would spend the rest of his career working to implement those policies and promote affordable housing in both Monterey and Santa Cruz Counties, until his retirement in 2006.

Frank was committed to serving his community. He was awarded "Monterey County Employee of the Year" for his work to set up an emergency shelter for the homeless during a particularly cold winter. He served on the boards of several nonprofit organizations, including CHISPA, Shelter Outreach Plus, and the Housing Resource Center of Monterey County.

In 1997 Frank married the love of his life, Kristine Edmunds. They met in 1995 over a conversation about an affordable housing development for farmworker families, during which Frank made Kristine laugh for the first of countless times during their 26 years together. Frank and Kristine's son, Bodhi, was born in 2005 and was Frank's greatest joy. Frank would often express his great delight and satisfaction as Bodhi's father, and how proud he was of the person his son was becoming.

Frank enjoyed a wide range of music, from 1960s classic rock, to 1970s soul and funk, to jazz and blues; and he often rehearsed and performed with an African drumming group, which appeared at many cultural events in Monterey County. Frank was the life and soul of any gathering of friends and is well remembered for his humor and quick wit, and a vast collection of vintage Hawaiian shirts. His friends and family are sure he is now playing drums and spinning records on the other side.

Frank was predeceased by his mother, father, and several aunts and uncles. He is survived by his wife, Kristine Edmunds; son, Bodhi Brunings; brother, Steve Brunings (Ann Vidor); sister, Grace Brunings Gonzalez (Marcus) and their children Jeanette and Christopher; cousins Art Lodewijkx, Lucie Lodewijkx (Frank Mulder), and Elisa Lodewijkx (Byron Rice); his wife's family; and many close friends. He was well loved by all.

A celebration of life will be held at a later date. In lieu of flowers, please consider a donation to the Center for Community Advocacy, which works on farmworker housing issues and was the organization that brought Frank and Kristine together, or the charity of your choice.

https://www.findagrave.com/memorial/226791764/frank_edward-brunings