Obituary of Ann Funk

Author, historian, devoted mother, and loving wife to her husband Ron for over 61 years, Ann Willrich Funk passed away peacefully on Feb 2, 2015, at home in Santa Barbara, California. She was 84. Born in Pasadena, CA on January 21, 1931, Ann's parents were Dorothy Mason Willrich and Edgar Willrich. Ann had an older half-sister, Mary, born in 1925, and a younger brother, Mason, born in 1933. She attended Polytechnic School, sang in the choir at All Saints Episcopal Church in Pasadena, and spent many happy hours at the family's ranch in Valyermo, on the north side of the San Gabriel Mountains. After graduating from the Masters School in Dobbs Ferry, NY, Ann studied for two years at Mills College in Oakland, CA before transferring to Stanford University, where in 1952 she earned her BA in History, with an emphasis on California history and literature. Shortly after her graduation from Stanford, at a dinner hosted by her mother, Ann met a young journalist named Robert D. ("Ron") Funk, whose family owned the Evening Outlook newspaper in Santa Monica. Ann and Ron fell in love. Ann departed a few months later to work at the State Department in Washington DC; but when she returned home for Christmas, Ron asked her to marry him, and she accepted. Six months later, on June 13, 1953, Ann and Ron were married at the Church of Our Saviour in San Gabriel, CA. United Press International (UPI) offered Ron a job in their San Francisco bureau, and then transferred him to Los Angeles. In 1954, Ron and Ann bought a small house at the top of Beachwood Canyon, in the Hollywood Hills. Their first son, Jonathan (Jake), was born there in January 1955. Over the next six years, Ann gave birth to three more children - Christine (1957), Mason (Mac) (1958), and Carl (1960) - while she and Ron made their way west to Brentwood, and then further west to Malibu, where Ron and Ann built a house on a bluff overlooking Zuma Beach. During those years, Ron traveled widely on business for UPI. In 1963, Ann and Ron moved their young family to East Channel Road in Santa Monica Canyon. While Ron worked for the family newspaper, Ann ran the household, ferrying her kids to countless music lessons and sports practices, while involving herself in a plethora of community organizations. She served as president of the Santa Monica Westside Volunteer Bureau's Voluntary Action Center, and president of the Santa Monica Westside Junior Philharmonic Committee. In 1975, she was appointed head of the Santa Monica Centennial's Historical Activities Committee. She later served as founding Chairwoman of the Santa Monica Historical Society. In 1980, after recurring pulmonary problems forced Ron to retire, he and Ann moved to Genoa, NV (pop. 281), Nevada's oldest settlement. Nourished by the beauty of the Carson Valley, and by the region's rich history, Ann launched herself into an exhilarating range of new activities. She worked as a docent at the Genoa Courthouse Museum, helped stage the town's annual Candy Dance, and started a program to bring the Reno Symphony to perform free concerts every July 4th, at historic Mormon Station. During these years, Ann also began writing fiction. Her Nevada license plate read 'Flanery', in tribute to her favorite author, Flannery O'Connor. After taking writing courses at local colleges and universities, Ann earned her MA in fiction writing from Antioch College in 1997. She then began the project that would represent the culmination of her creative journey, a simultaneously sweeping and intimate work of historical fiction called "Lifeblood". With illustrations, hand-drawn maps, and editorial assistance provided by Ron, Lifeblood was published by Daniel and Daniel Publishers in 2012. In 2009, Ron and Ann departed their beloved Carson Valley, and moved to Santa Barbara, where they had owned an apartment on Miramar Beach since the 1980s. Although Ann's last years were marked by declining health, she and Ron enjoyed being back near the Pacific Ocean, and partaking in Santa Barbara's many cultural, musical, and historical offerings. A woman of spirit, backbone, distinctive tastes, informed mind, and a creative streak that burned bright and never waned, Ann Willrich Funk will be greatly missed by her family, and all who were fortunate to know her. In addition to her husband and her four children, Ann is survived by her brother Mason Willrich of Piedmont, CA, and seven grandchildren: David Purcell, Amanda Purcell, Matthew Funk, Katie Funk, Jordan Funk, Jessica Funk, and Tianna Funk. Funeral services will be held on Sunday, Feb 15, 2015 at 2:00pm, at All Saints-by-the-Sea Episcopal Church in Santa Barbara. Donations in Ann's honor may be made to the Music Academy of the West, 1070 Fairway Rd., Santa Barbara, CA 93108, or www.musicacademy.org. Arrangements entrusted to McDermott-Crockett and Associates Mortuary (805) 569-2424.