Services were held Friday, March 4, at Slininger-Schroeder Funeral Home in Jefferson for Rosemarie Funcke, 86, of Jefferson.
The Rev Julie Poulsen, pastor of First United Methodist Church in Jefferson, offered words of comfort. Sunje Banister recited The Lord’s Prayer in German. Soloists were Rod St Clair and Joan St Clair, accompanied by Danille Curtis. Honorary bearers were Wyatt Funcke, William Funcke, Afton Funcke, Austyn Funcke, Cassidy Carstens, Brandon Carstens, Madesyn Carstens and Liam Moore.
Interment was at the Jefferson Municipal Cemetery.
Rosemarie Gertrude Reschke Funcke was born Aug. 16, 1929 in Friedberg, Germany. She was the youngest daughter of Werner Georgi Reschke and Elise Blasing. She attended school and graduated at the age of 14.
Her plans of going on to study home economics at college were unable to continue when Russians invaded Germany in 1944. Upon that invasion, her family was forced to leave their home and walk to their nearest relative’s home near Berlin, which was approximately 99 miles. The family found an apartment near Berlin. Rosemarie had various jobs; one included working as a nanny for a general who had been widowed.
Rosemarie met Kurt Funcke when she was 19 years old in 1948. He worked for a farmer down the road from where she worked as a nanny. They began dating and he called her “roschen,” which meant rosebud. This nickname stuck throughout their marriage. They were united in marriage on Nov. 10, 1950. From this union, Werner Willi Funcke was born.
In November of 1952, Kurt, Rosemarie, Werner and Rosemarie’s mother emmigrated to the United States, arriving on a small ship named Grota Bear after two weeks of stormy seas. Kurt and Rosemarie were sponsored by a farmer in Farnhamville, where they joined Rosemarie’s aunt, uncle, sister and brother-in-law who had also emmigrated to the US from Germany.
The family moved to a farm north of Jefferson in 1954. In 1974, Rosemarie and family moved to Jefferson. Rosemarie worked cleaning houses and caring for the loves of her life, her husband Kurt, and son Werner.
She enjoyed time spent with her family and friends. There were many trips to Germany to see family and friends, bringing home treasures such as china and lace that she made into curtains that hung in the house for many years. The grandchildren and great-grandchildren always looked forward to their birthday parties that Grandma and Grandpa always had for them, which included balloons and cake. She was always helping paint and clean houses for grandchildren and tending to her flower garden.
A tradition of Rosemarie and Kurt’s was to have coffee every day after Kurt returned home from work. This tradition carried on through the years. Rosemarie was known for her famous streusel kuchen and strawberry tart. She took pride in keeping up her home and loved to clean windows. There were also many hours spent on her sewing machine. Dancing to German polka music was a joy.
Even as Kurt’s health was declining and he entered long term care, she was there every day to eat lunch and spend the afternoon with him. After his death on Dec. 7, 2014, Rosemarie wanted to stay in her home as long as she could, which she did with the help of UnityPoint hospice team. Following a fall in February that led to a broken hip, Rosemarie entered the Greene County Medical Center. There, she passed away peacefully on Feb. 28, 2016, at the age of 86 years.
Rosemarie is survived by her daughter-in-law, Kathryn Funcke of Jefferson; grandchildren James (Shannon Haley-Funcke) Funcke of Jamaica, Jared (Jayne Peters) Funcke of Jefferson, Anne (Matt) Carstens of Paton, and Jonathan Funcke of Jefferson; great-grandchildren Wyatt, William, Afton and Austyn Funcke of Jamaica and Cassidy, Brandon, and Madesyn Carstens of Paton; other relatives and friends.
She was preceded in death by her husband Kurt; son Werner; her father and mother; and sister Gertrude Bennewitz, and brother-in-law, Willi Bennewitz.
