Funk, John (1898-1988)

Mennonite Weekly Review obituary: 1988 Aug 4 p. 11

Birth date: 1898 Nov 23

text of obituary:

JOHN FUNK

John Funk was born Nov. 20, 1898, near Canton, Kan., to Abraham and Anna Buhler Schroeder Funk, who moved to the Inola, Okla., area in 1914. They were charter members of Eden Mennonite Church in 1916.

He was baptized upon his confession of faith in Jesus Christ by P. P. Wedel on Aug. 7, 1918, in G. J. Voth's barn, which was used for worship services for a time after the church building burned.

On Nov. 21, 1935, he was married to Justine Kroeker, with Solomon Mouttet, pastor of the Eden Church, officiating.

They lived most of their married life in the Chouteau area. In 1985 they moved to Menno-Heim Village near Chouteau.

He clerked in the grocery stores of his brothers-in-law, George and Frank Kroeker, for many years before he took a job as custodian at the Chouteau schools. A "jack of all trades," he was willing to help wherever and wherever he was needed.

Some of his greatest joys were doing various activities with his nieces and nephews and listening to the men's chorus.

He developed a heart condition in the early 1960s and was never n good health since that time. The last few months of his life were spent in a nursing home. He died Feb. 29, 1988, at the age of 89.

He is survived by his wife, Justine; one sister, Elizabeth Funk Hiebert of Oxnard, Calif.; two brothers and their wives, Waldo and Agathe Funk of rural Inola and Arnold and Katheryn Funk of rural Chouteau; and one sister-in-law, Martha (Mrs. Otto) Funk of Tahlequah.

He was preceded in death by two brothers and two sisters.

Funeral services were held March 3, 1988, at Eden Mennonite Church, Inola, with Earl Cater officiating. Interment was in the church cemetery.