Cleo Funke

Cleo Jeannette Funke, age 98, died peacefully at her residence in Coeur d'Alene, Idaho on October 1, 2016. She was born on February 4, 1918 in Ferdinand, Idaho to Glenn Harrison Powers and Trula Geneva York Powers.

She attended Nezperce public schools and trained to be a registered nurse at St. Joseph's Hospital in Lewiston, Idaho, graduating in 1939. Cleo met her future husband, Eugene Herman Funke, while working at St. Mary's Hospital in Cottonwood, Idaho and married on September 11, 1941.

She spent many years as a home-maker on the family farm near Kamiah and then on their ranch in Benewah County. When Debbi was 5 years old, Cleo returned to nursing and worked many years at the St. Maries Community Hospital, then for Dr. Thurston in his private practice in St. Maries, and eventually in the Kootenai Memorial Hospital.

Cleo and Gene moved to Mesa, Arizona in 1988 where they enjoyed the warm weather and many years of active retirement that included daily dancing and handicrafts. After Gene's death in 1998, she moved back to Coeur d'Alene to be near her children and grandchildren.

She is survived by two daughters (Marcelle J Moe and Debbi K Funke), three sons (Robert L, Maurice R and Dennis M Funke), ten grandchildren, nineteen great grandchildren, and her sisters Joyce Minnie Lockard and Martha Dianne Wyers, both of Portland, Oregon, and one brother, Roland Harrison Powers of Lewiston.

Cleo dealt with five bouts of cancer, but was never a victim. She spent years successfully fighting the disease, going through several major surgeries and many chemotherapy treatments. Through all of those years, she remained strong, optimistic and determined to survive. She never had a complaint, even when macular degeneration took her eyesight, and was always an inspiration; she managed and managed well. Her family and her friends will always remember her courage and perseverance in the face of what for most of us would have been overwhelming.

Her ashes will be preserved next to those of her husband in Saint Thomas Cemetery, Coeur d'Alene. The family would like to express our sincere appreciation for the generous and loving support of the staff and management of Wellspring Meadows Assisted Living, our mother's final home, and asks that remembrances in her name be sent to Auburn Crest Hospice, 1221 W. Ironwood Dr. #102, Coeur d'Alene, ID 83814.

Memorial Mass will be Noon Friday October 7, 2016, at St. Pius X Catholic Church, 625 E Haycraft Ave, Coeur d'Alene, ID.