Patricia was born March 12, 1938 in Exeter, New Hampshire, the only child of Mildred and Thomas Rooney. Pat met her future husband, Richard, while they were they both attending the University of New Hampshire, she an English major and he in the Electrical Engineering curriculum. They became engaged while she was still a Senior and arranged to be married upon her graduation. They were married June 29, 1959 in Shelby, Montana, where he was working as a field engineer for a defense contractor. They moved often during the early years, following Richards jobs. Pat taught elementary school in New Hampshire before moving to California in the 60's. Their son Thomas was born in 1961, while living in Missouri. David followed in 1965, while living in Lompoc, Caifornia. The family finally settled down and bought a house in Sunnyvale in 1970. Patricia taught at several schools in the area, retiring as a 5th grade teacher from Empire Gardens in San Jose. She received her Master's degree in Library Science from San Jose State in 1978. The Funke family got involved in the 4-H program while the boys were young. Patricia founded the El Dorado 4-H club and was the community leader for many years. She has served on the 4-H county council, but is best know for her role in the management of the stills exhibits at the Santa Clara County Fair. Needle work and fiber arts were a passion of Patricia's. She was very active in the following guilds; the American Needleworkers Guild, two local chapters of The Embroiderers Guild of America, and Glenna Harris Weaver's. She represented her local guild at the Conference of Northern California Handweavers (CNCH) and served the CNCH as it's Outreach Chair. She is survived by her husband of 60 years, Richard, her son, David, daughter in-law Kathy and her grandchildren Nick and Beth.
One summer, my parents decided that my sisters and I should help set up the stills building at fair. We spent all week at the fair helping with judging and set-up. That was when I met Mrs. Funke. I would avoid her because I was afraid that she might talk to me. Yikes! She was direct and to the point. As an 8-year old I was afraid of her. It took me years to find out that she was actually a really nice person.
Year after year, I would return to the Fair and Mrs. Funke was always in the Stills Building. I don't know how she had the patience to do all of the stills judging and set-up for 30+ years. Most of the current 4-Hers don't know how many still exhibits their used to be. She put in so much time and effort to keep the Stills Building looking good with the kids' exhibits.
She was a Club Leader for El Dorado for years and later formed the Empire Gardens Club. She held those clubs together, she was the glue. The Empire Gardens 4-H club was in a low-income area and she fought to keep that club alive too.
Pat Funke was a dedicated 4-H champion who persevered for decades to keep the program going. I am amazed at everything that she has done. She gave her heart to the 4-H program. Every time I see the Stills building at Fair, I will continue to remember her.
The Funke family had a motor home they affectionately called Grover. I remember one trip as an All Star. We were traveling to UC Riverside to attend a conference. Our team was hanging out in the back of Grover, talking and playing cards the whole way. It was one of those really hot summer days, and at the top of the Grapevine, Grover overheated and stopped running. Poor Pat, she had 5 crazy teenagers to deal with as well as a broken down motor home, with miles to go before we reached our destination. This was in the days before cell phones. We all wanted to help, so I remember us crossing I-5 to find a telephone at the ranger station across the way. Pat stayed calm and let us help her solve the problem. She was grace under pressure, always believing in the power of kids.
