Dr. Frank E. Funk

DR. FRANK E. FUNK Dr. Frank E. Funk died Friday August 21 in Tucson, AZ of heart complications. He was 92. A World War II veteran, educator and administrator, he was also an active community volunteer. During World War II he was a navigator with the 463rd Bomb Group of the 15th Air Corps. He was captured by the Germans when his plane went down over Czechoslovakia and was a POW for the remainder of the war. After the war he obtained his PhD in Business Communications from Purdue University. He taught at Purdue and Lehigh and was at Syracuse University for 32 years, ultimately as Dean of University College. He served as National President of the Association for Continuing Higher Education. Upon retirement, he and his wife Ruth relocated to Wilmington. A model rail road hobbyist, he was a long-time volunteer and board member with the Wilmington Railroad Museum and as President oversaw the museum's relocation and expansion. He served as an elder at First Presbyterian Church, as President of the board of WHQR, and as a board member for the Alliance for a Regional Concert Hall (ARCH). Frank moved to Tucson, AZ in 2013. He is survived by his daughter, Karen Funk Blocher (husband John), his stepdaughters Janet Johnson (husband James Tremblay) and Dr. Amy Sisley, sister Marie, nieces and nephews. Frank was preceded in death by his wife, Dr. Ruth Christy Funk, his son Steven, and sisters Hazel, Doris and Grace. A memorial service will be held at First Presbyterian Church, Wilmington, on Tuesday September 1 at 11:00. In lieu of flowers, donations may be made to First Presbyterian Church, the Wilmington Symphony, or the Wilmington Railroad Museum.