Jack Funderburg

Jack Edward Funderburg Sr. 77, passed away at his home in Estero, Florida in the presence of family on May 31, 2022. The son of John K. “Jack” and Shirley Funderburg, Jack was born on June 18, 1944, in Belvidere Illinois. He graduated from Belvidere High School in 1962 having lettered in wrestling and football. He then spent a year at Morgan Park Academy before attending Parsons College in Fairfield, Iowa where he graduated in 1967. Jack enlisted in the US Navy in 1968 and served aboard the USS Ticonderoga (CV-14). The “Tico’s” first two West-Pacific cruises with Jack manning the radar were as an attack carrier where he earned the National Defense Service Medal, Republic of Vietnam Campaign Medal, Vietnam Service Medal with one Bronze Star, Meritorious Unit Commendation, and the Armed Forces Expeditionary Medal (Korea). The “Tico’s” third West-Pacific cruise with Jack still on radar duty was as a support carrier where he actively participated in the recovery of NASA’s Apollo 16 moon mission capsule. Returning to Belvidere, Jack began a career that was centered in business but also heavily focused on civic volunteerism. He owned Belvidere Candy Company from 1974 to 1992 and was a realtor from 1992 to 2011. He served as President to the Illinois Association of Candy and Tobacco Distributors, two-time President of the Belvidere Board of Realtors, District Vice-President of the Illinois Association of Realtors and Belvidere Realtor of the Year in 1995. He was the President of the Y’s Men’s Club of Belvidere, the Regional Director to the Midwest Y’s Men’s Club, President of the Belvidere Chamber of Commerce, President of the United Way of Boone County, Chairman of the Kishwaukee Riverfront Development Committee, served on the Citizens Advisory Committee for School District 100, worked with Growth Dimensions of Belvidere, Junior Achievement and was an active member of the IOU Club of Belvidere. Jack was awarded the Doctor of Civic Betterment from the Belvidere Chamber of Commerce in 1984. Jack took a position as a Realtor Association Executive Vice President in Aurora, Illinois and moved there in 1997. In 1999 he was asked by the mayor to join his administration as property manager to the city and titled assistant chief of staff. He retired in 2009 as chief of staff. Jack was also very active within the community of Aurora, serving as President of the Family Counseling Service of Aurora, Chairman of Big Brothers/Big Sisters, sat on the Board of Trustees for the Paramount Arts Center, and served on the City of Aurora Equity Assurance Commission as well as the Aurora Economic Development Commission. In 2010 he retired to The Pelican Sound Golf and River Club in Estero, Florida. While there, he found more ways to volunteer, serving as president to two separate neighborhood associations and sitting on the parking committee, election committee, civic affairs committee, and the ECCL committee. Throughout his life, Jack was an avid Rotarian. He joined his first club in 1975 in Belvidere, the same club that had been founded by his grandfather, Hugh K Funderburg, in 1920. He subsequently joined the Aurora and Estero chapters upon relocation. He was very proud of the charitable activities the organization undertook both in the US and internationally. His first of nine Paul Harris Fellowships was in 1985, member to the Paul Harris Society in 1997, named a Major Donor in 2011, and became a Bequest Society member in 2022. He began his perfect attendance record in 1983 and kept it going until 2022, a feat that had him attending meetings at local chapters across the country and around the globe. In Belvidere he was a huge fan and booster of the Belvidere Bucs football team, rarely missing a game - home or away. In Aurora he and his wife Rogene would take in the events at The Paramount as well as attend The Concerts in the Park in Lake Geneva. In Estero he finally had the time to work on his golf game, achieving his hole in one in 2014. He also enjoyed attending Florida Gulf Coast University Women’s Basketball games. No matter where he lived, he was a lifelong Cubs fan through the good years and the bad years. When at Wrigley, he would keep score by hand and enjoyed going to Cubs conventions in the off season with his boys. Jack is preceded in death by his parents, John K Funderburg Sr and Shirley and Jack Brereton.He is survived by his wife, Rogene Funderburg; siblings, Jay Funderburg (Toria), Louise Farel (Gene), and Fred Brereton (Marlene); children, Jack Funderburg Jr, Jason Funderburg (Bridget), Jarid Funderburg, Joshua Funderburg, Caete Young, Michele Young (Jeff Zelda), and Jennifer Nelson (Mark); six grandchildren, Jackson, Jaycie, Chloe, Garrett, Rachel, and Max, and one great-grandchild, Maisie. Visitation for Jack will be held from 4:00 P.M. to 7:00 P.M. at Belvidere Funeral Home & Cremation Service on Monday, June 13, 2022. A funeral service will begin at 11:00 A.M. on Tuesday, June 14, 2022, at First Presbyterian Church, 221 N. Main St, Belvidere, IL. Burial at Belvidere Cemetery with full military honors to follow. In lieu of flowers, memorials can be made to the family.