Robert M. Funderburg
- Published: July 28, 2011
Robert M. Funderburg died peacefully in his sleep on July 26.
Robert was born in 1919 to Faye and Louise (Meredith) Funderburg on their farm south of Yellow Springs. He grew up on the farm with his three brothers and two sisters. He loved horses and, as a boy, would ride his pony to herd cattle back to the barn every evening. He had a brief career, consisting of one race, as a jockey at age 16, a thrill he loved to tell about the rest of his life.
He graduated from Bryan High School and went on to graduate from Ohio State. After college, he joined the army and became a veteran of WWII.
Robert came home after the war and married Jane Dewine, and they had three sons. She was not only his wife but his best friend for 54 years.
Robert began his career as a school teacher at Spring Valley, but began teaching in the Yellow Springs schools in the mid-1950s, and taught everything from math and science to P.E. and shop, and coached numerous sports teams for 26 years. He retired to spend his final years on his beloved farm.
Robert is survived by his three sons, Robert, Pat and Lee, his granddaughter Laura and his great-grandson Carson. Visitation will be held Friday, July 29, 6–8 p.m. at Jackson Lytle & Williams in Yellow Springs.
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What a sweet man. I had him for 7th and 8th grade, including the awful year upstairs of the municipal building. He was simply the nicest person to us. (In 6th grade, I was in Mrs. F’s class. She had a really difficult kid and she finally dragged him down the hall to Mr. F for a paddling — with a ping pong paddle. I think it was a terribly difficult thing for them to do, but they didn’t know any other options in those days. …and it did seem to chill the kid out a little…)