Stephen J. Funk ’58
Written by cousin-in-law, Reverend Liane S. Rock ’80.
Our relative, Stephen J. Funk, was a cousin to my husband, William H. Rock ’50. Steve and I had a wonderful friendship through many years. I met him in 1948, a year before my husband and I were married. His dream was to be a student at Macalester College. Because he was a few years younger he shared many thoughts with us about his future plans. Steve was an ‘only’ child and he loved the attention we could share with him.
The Funk and the Rock families have a long history at Mac. Steve’s grandfather, Dr. Henry Funk ’01, served Macalester as a professor in history, an ordained Presbyterian minister, and other duties. His father, Dr. Victor Funk ’21, his uncle Heinrich Funk ’27, and his aunt Esther Funk Rock ’25 are Macalester graduates. Esther was my husband’s mother.
Victor Funk ’21 with his son, Stephen Funk.
Steve loved his time at Macalester and participated in a variety of activities including bagpipes. He was a loyal fan of all student athletic events. Steve valued the educational opportunities at Macalester in the same sense that so many of us as young students experienced. That is, each class attended, each day on campus opened new horizons in how we understood the world.
My husband and I were with Steve the day before his death. By his bedside was a small picture of him standing by our famous Macalester Bell near Old Main.