Charles Quentin Sprank, Jr., age 69 of Prior Lake, passed away on Thursday, April 13, 2023, due to a combination of health issues.
An open-house gathering will be held in honor of Charlie on Friday, April 21, 2023 from 2:30-5:30 PM at Ballard-Sunder Funeral Home, 4565 Pleasant St SE, Prior Lake.
Charlie grew up on the shores of Prior Lake where his grandparents had popular fishing cottages called Sprank’s Resort, dating back to 1910. This is where his interest and love for animals started. He grew up on this farm with cows, chickens, pigs, rabbits, and dogs. In his youth he went on camping vacations to popular locations like the Grand Canyon and Alaska with his mother, father, and sister. He spent all his school years in Prior Lake and graduated in 1971.
He had many neighborhood friends and relatives nearby. If they weren’t at sunset beach, they were having parties when mom and dad were out of town. Lots of card games went down at that house.
In 1975, Charlie married Melanie Johnson at the age of 21. They had two daughters, Heather and April. Charlie spoiled the girls with the best gifts for Christmas, and birthdays.
Charlie may have been the quietest person in the room, but he had a quick sense of humor that came out periodically and made everyone laugh.
Charlie lived most of his life next door to his parents, his sister Nancy and his 4 nieces. He was surrounded by girls in the family. He was a kid at heart who loved teasing and pranking the girls. He truly enjoyed finding fun and unique toys for his nieces and family for Christmas.
When Charlie’s parents were in their senior years he would visit with them every evening after work, at Scherer Brothers. They would watch Wheel of Fortune and Judge Judy and talk about their day.
Charlie loved everything outdoors. His hobbies included fishing, hunting, snowmobiling, archery, vegetable gardening, and smoking meats.
Charlie enjoyed cooking so much he would often bake his famous cookies to share with the guys at work. On weekends it was a guarantee he was sitting in his recliner watching a black & white movie like Laurel and Hardy, The Little Rascals, or any western with Clint Eastwood.
Frequent trips up to Marcell, MN to camp and deer hunt weren’t always successful but he enjoyed the journey and visiting his friend, Tommy Craig.
Charlie shared his love of animals with his daughters, too. He had many exotic pets over the years, a turtle, pet squirrel, chinchillas, a ferret, spiders, snakes, and even an owl. His daughters have adopted his love for odd critters, too.
Our father is so loved he has a grand-daughter, Charlie and a grand-son, Quentin, named after him.
Charlie is survived by his daughters, April (Chris Schneider) Sprank and Heather (Joe) VanGuilder; grandchildren; Ella VanGuilder, Quentin VanGuilder, Charlie VanGuilder, Dustin VanGuilder, Jordan VanGuilder, Autumn VanGuilder, Ashlee Wuensch, Blake Schneider; and many nieces, relatives, and friends.
He is preceded in death by his parents, Geraldine and Charles Quentin Sprank Sr; and sister, Nancy Zoschke.
Charlie’s cremated remains will be buried next to his family at Spring Lake Cemetery at a later date.
