HIS LIFE

GUNBIE FLEMING FRANKLIN II was born February 13, 1951, to Gunbie Fleming Franklin I and Normagene (Lyons) Franklin, in Kansas City, Missouri.   Preceding him in death were his parents, sister Frances J Franklin-Cooley, and son Gunbie (Tony) Fleming Franklin III.  

He was educated in the Kansas City Missouri School District from elementary to high school.  He attended Booker T Washington Elementary School, Lincoln Junior High School, Southeast High School and graduated from Manual High School Class of 1969.  He also was in the ROTC Program in school and took a trade in Carpentry.  He also attended and took college courses at Penn Valley Community College for about 2 years. 

From the time Gunbie was of age and could work, he began working in a downtown Kansas City bookstore while in school and later obtained a job as a Security Officer.  During his career, he worked several years as a deputy for the Jackson Country Courts and retired from there as well.  He received awards for jobs well served during his career. 

Gunbie fathered five children to which Gunbie (Cee) currently reside in Kansas City, Missouri; Shalon (Sunshine) resides in Dallas, Texas; Kimberly and Shandreka resides in Kansas City, Kansas.  In November 1992, he lost his son Gunbie III (Tony) Franklin who resided in Kansas City, Kansas.   

Gunbie met his wife Bettye (O'Neal) Franklin when he worked at Commerce Bank as a security officer in February 1977.   Then years later they married and lived together in Kansas City, Missouri and Pell City, Alabama.  

                                                                    HIS  LEGACY

Gunbie loved his wife, family, and people.  He loved to make friends and talk a lot. He loved all his children as well as the neighborhood children who came to like him very much.   He would bake cookies for them as well as teach them how to bake their own cookies and take home. He was always friendly to his neighbors and their children. Some of them he got to see grow up as adults and remained friends with them.  

He loved to cook and bake especially. He had a specialty of making lemon meringue pie.  In his younger days, he loved taking pictures and would also sometimes do weddings or parties.  He was very good with his hands in building furniture, fixing things, doing plumbing jobs, etc.  He indeed was a handyman at heart.  If he could help you with fixing something, he would.  Gunbie use to love to bowl.  He was a pretty good bowler in a bowling league back in the day.  

When growing up, he attended Ward Chapel AME Church in Kansas City, Missouri right off 21th Prospect Ave.   In Alabama with his wife, they attended church at Holy Hill Church, Lincoln, Alabama.           

He leaves to cherish many memories to his loving wife Bettye Franklin, his three daughters, Kimberly D. Johnson (Robert), Shalon (Sunshine) Love, Shandreka White, his son Gunbie (Cee) Sheppard, many grandchildren and great-grandchildren, one brother Henry E. Lyons, two sister Daisy W. Jones (Michael) and Marilyn Franklin, brother-n-laws Charles H. O'Neal and Roger D. O'Neal, sister-n-laws ViKie S. Scott (Chris) and Teena E. O'Neal and a host of nieces, nephews, relatives, and friends.