Phillip Lester Plunk

Phillip Lester Plunk was born on January 27, 1951, and died at age 67 on December 28, 2018. He was the firstborn son to Chester Calvin Pinkie Plunk and Shirley Maxine Moon Plunk. After graduating from Stratford High School in 1969, Phil attended SMU, West Texas State University, and the University of Texas in Houston, graduating from the UT Dental School in 1978. Phil practiced dentistry in Jacksboro, Albany, and Amarillo, Texas, before joining Texas Tech University Health Sciences as a dentist. In 1984, Phil began leading volunteer teams each summer to Guatemala with the United Methodist Church Volunteers in Mission. In 1999, Phil closed his dental practice and founded Project Salud y Paz (Health & Peace), and served the Mayan population full-time in Guatemala. Working through Iglesias Methodista, the local Methodist church, he established his first dental clinics in Urbina and Camanchaj. Salud y Paz eventually added a full time MD to provide medical services, followed by clinics in San Antonio and Cunen. In 2009, preschool Colegio Susanna Wesley was opened, providing Mayan children with the fluent Spanish language skills they need to succeed in the public school system. They are now bi-lingual (Kiche and Spanish) and are breaking the educational barriers to success. Phil was preceded in death by his father, C.C. Plunk, in 1983 and his mother, Shirley Plunk, in 2005, both of Stratford, TX. He is survived by his children, Stacey and husband, John Amdur, of Houston, TX; Seth Plunk and wife, Valini, of Dallas, TX; and Sara Mitchell, of Houston, TX; his brothers, Ken Plunk and wife, Louise, of Amarillo, TX; and Max Plunk and wife, Kathy, of Lawton, OK; four grandchildren, Kate and Issa Amdur of Houston, TX and Mira and Nela Plunk of Dallas, TX; and many cousins from the Plunk, Moon, Chamberlain, and Townsend families and several nieces and nephews. A Memorial service will be held on Friday, Jan 4, 2019, at Washington Avenue Christian Church, Amarillo (3800 S Washington) at 2:00 PM. In lieu of flowers, the family requests Memorials to be directed to Project Salud y Paz. www.saludypaz.org Memorial Service Washington Avenue Christian Church Friday, January 04, 2019 2:00 PM 3800 S. Washington Amarillo, TX 79110