KirkAllan Funk Obituary (2024)

Kirk Funk, 64, of Renton, Washington, died at home in Yakima, Washington after a courageous battle with cancer on December 30, 2024, with his sisters at his bedside. A common reflection from people lucky enough to have known Kirk was how kind and generous our son and brother was. His creativity and love of all things in nature, especially trees and birds, was well known among family and friends. Kirk was born in 1960 in Dickinson, North Dakota to Chuck and Mary Jane Funk. The family moved often, and Kirk attended schools in Washington, Montana, and Utah. Along the way he had a gift for making friends, many of whom he stayed in touch with over the years. During high school, he devoted his time to the Catholic youth group, CYO basketball, and attending retreats. It was at one of these retreats Kirk met his lifelong best friend, Joe Welsh. The stories they could tell, one being the ELO concert in 2018. Kirk graduated in 1978 from Viewmont High School in Bountiful, Utah. When the family relocated from Utah to Washington in 1979, Kirk followed. Kirk attended Central Washington University before relocating to Portland, Oregon. In Portland he began his career with Consolidated Freightways and later transferred to Renton where CF became UPS. As a supervisor for heavy freight forwarding, one of his best stories was the time his department was responsible for transporting the beluga whales from Point Defiance Zoo in Tacoma to Chicago. While loading the beluga whales onto the plane, Kirk had the opportunity to touch the whales, a moment he looked back on fondly. Kirk worked as long as he could after his diagnosis, but eventually moved to Yakima to be close to his family. Kirk was known for his love of birds, and over the years raised dozens of cockatiels and lovebirds. He also had several parrots and even Ringo, the rescue starling. The trip of his life was when he was invited to speak at conference in Australia about living at home with birds. Only second to his love of birds was his passion for cars. It was Kirk's dream to restore a 1972 Plymouth Fury GT, but time ran out. Being a big brother came naturally to Kirk. Of the many memories with our brother, most involved him teaching us fun things. A glider was built and launched off a dike near our home in Conway, Washington, so we might learn how airplanes fly. A mountain was constructed out of cinder blocks in the backyard. Who knew we needed to learn how to rock climb? We could not have asked for a better, big brother. Kirk was always there for us. We want to share Kirk's 2024 Christmas Eve message, "Happy Holidays. Well, it's been a trying year, but I'm still vertical and I have great love surrounding me. I keep praying for a miracle, but I have to follow God's plan." Kirk is survived by his parents, Chuck and Mary Jane Funk of Yakima, Washington, sisters, Lisa and Kevin Martin, of Yakima, and Celeste and Robert Oglesby, of Lubbock, Texas; as well as his aunts, uncles and cousins: and his cockatiel, Sunny. In lieu of flowers please consider donating to one of Kirk's favorite foundations, the Arbor Day Foundation or Kakapo Recovery, in New Zealand (see links below). https://shop.arborday.org/commemorative-trees-for-others?producttype=TIM https://www.rewild.org/wild-about/kakapo Brookside Funeral Home is caring for the family. Memories and condolences may be shared at www.brooksidefuneral.com.