Kurt Funcke

Date of Death:  December 7, 2014

Kurt Funcke, 90, of Jefferson died Dec. 7. Funeral Services will be 11:00 a.m. December 11 at the First United Methodist Church in Jefferson. Burial will take place at a later date at the Jefferson Cemetery, Jefferson. Friends may call after 11:00 a.m. Dec. 10 at Slininger-Rossow Funeral Home in Jefferson with the family present to greet friends from 5:00 p.m. to 7:00 p.m. Memorials are suggested to the family and may be left at Slininger-Rossow Funeral Home in Jefferson.

Kurt Erwin Funcke was born on April 23, 1924, in Schlochau, Germany. He was the youngest of three sons of Waldemar Georg Funcke and Brunhilde Cybulski Funcke.

In 1941, at the age of 17, Kurt enlisted in the German Army and fought in WWII.  He served in various locations and was held in a refugee camp in Italy as a prisoner of war. He was honorably discharged on March 8, 1946, at which time he returned to Dagobertshausen, Kreis, Marburg, Germany.

In 1948, while working on a farm in Dagobertshausen, Kurt met the love of his life, Rosemarie Reschke.  They were united in marriage on November 10, 1950.  To this union, one son, Werner Willi Georg Funcke, was born.

In November of 1952, Kurt, Rosemarie, Werner and Rosemarie’s mother immigrated to the United States, arriving on a small ship after two weeks of stormy seas. Kurt and Rosemarie were sponsored by a farmer in Farnhamville, Iowa, where they joined Rosemarie’s aunt, uncle, sister and brother-in-law who had also immigrated to the US from Germany.

Kurt and his family moved to a farm north of Jefferson in 1954 when Kurt began his 11 year tenure with Benson Farms, milking cows and taking care of the land. From 1965 – 1974, he continued doing the farm work he loved with Gail McDonald and family.

In 1974, Kurt and his family moved into Jefferson when he accepted a position working for Parker, Inc. welding, building and painting Parker wagons.  He remained loyal and true to the company until their closure in 2000 when he retired.

Kurt was very dedicated to his wife and son, helping Werner and his family on their farm when he could and assisting Rosemarie with her flowers, gardening and yard work.  He loved to “tinker” with fixing stuff, listen to German polka music, spend time with his grandkids and great-grandkids and travel to the mountains in the United States and back to Germany when time allowed.  Kurt never abandoned his roots and, although he was proficient in English, continued to converse with Rosemarie daily in German.

Kurt entered Long Term Care at Greene County Medical Center in June of 2014 and lived there until his death on December 7, 2014.  He is survived by his wife of 64 years, Rosemarie; daughter-in-law, Kathryn Funcke, both of Jefferson; grandchildren, James (Shannon) Funcke of Jamaica, Jared (Jayne Peters) Funcke of Jefferson, Anne (Matt) Carstens of Paton and Jonathan Funcke of Jefferson; great-grandchildren, Wyatt, William, Afton & Austyn Funcke of Jamaica and Cassidy, Brandon and Madesyn Carstens of Paton; great-nieces and nephews, other relatives and many friends. He was preceded in death by his parents, brothers Georg and Karl Heinz, and son Werner.

Slininger-Rossow Funeral Home, www.sliningerrossowfuneralhome.com, 515-386-2171.