Dear Grandchildren,
I attended the Miller Funk Reunion today, got elected secretary, and participated in a discussion about whether after 102 years the Miller Funk Reunion has served its purpose. Wow! This was my first meeting.
The origins of the Miller Funk Reunion began with the marriage of two Funk boys, Henry and Jeremiah, to two Miller girls, Mary Etta and Lydia. The rest is history. Henry and Mary Etta are my great grandparents on my father’s (paternal) side.
Sadly only about 20 people attended. An observer might have thought we were the Hatfields and the McCoys because the Millers huddled at one end of the shelterhouse while the Funks occupied the other.
Is it worth the effort to save?
I admire what Cousin Hal (Harold Funk) has done on Facebook. Hal memorializes birthdays, anniversaries, and remembrances with a photograph and a short genealogical entry. My father’s would look like this:
“Remembering Clarence F. Funk 1911-1997. Clarence was the husband of Blossom Mae (Reynolds) and the father of Frank Leroy Funk and Dorothea “Dode” Mae (Funk) Woods George and the husband of Dorothy Marie (Smith) and the father of James C. Funk. Clarence is the son of Lucy C. Hennings and Frank Funk. Frank is the son of Mary Etta (Miller) and Henry Funk. Henry is the son of Nancy (Province) and Henry Funk.”
(Incidentally, I’m not sure that Nancy’s maiden name was Province. It could have been Prowant or Rovince or Bordgen or Provont. Ah, the joys of genealogy!)
Entries like what Cousin Hal is doing on Facebook put things in context. Consequently it means so much more than simply announcing that Mark had a birthday. Thank you Hal.
I remember being told that three classmates — Denny, Joyce, and John — were cousins. Whenever I inquired, father would begin with the story of the Funk boys and Miller girls. (No names, of course.) After the first sentence or two, I’d be lost. Like your Momma, I’m a visual learner. I have to see it. Having played around with the family tree, I now understand that Denny and Joyce are descendants of my paternal great uncle Israel and that John is a descendant through my paternal grandmother Lucy.
The reunion answered none of my family genealogy questions but gave me more and additional responsibilities.
Could the Miller Funk Reunion flourish with a digital component? Zoom? Facetime?
Love,
Grandfather
P.S. Questions:
- How are we related to the Lauses? They show up on the Ancestry DNA report.
- Why were Harriet’s — my paternal great aunt — children spread out among the family?
- Did the court proceedings in Henry County, Ohio, involving Israel Funk actually involve my paternal great uncle?
jcfunk 
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