Calvin Williams Funk

Calvin Williams Funk was born Sep 30, 1926 in Rexburg, Idaho to LeRoy Conrad and Grace Viola Williams Funk. Calvin was a veteran of World War II and the Korean War.

History

Before Calvin was born, his father accepted a teaching position at Ricks College (BYU-Idaho) in 1925. In 1929, just before the stock market crash that led to the Great Depression, Calvin's father accepted the appointment of County Extension Agent in Duchesne, Utah.1

In Richmond, Calvin's grandparents, Clarence and Laura Merrill Funk, nearly lost their dairy farm when a prized cow purchased in Wisconsin tested positive for Brucellosis, requiring the destruction of the entire herd. Calvin's father purchased the farm in 1938 from Clarence and moved his family to Richmond soon after.  Calvin was raised on the farm, and he eventually chose a life of farming.1

Often known as "Dr, Funk," Calvin excelled academically. During 1st grade he would wander the halls of Park Elementary or find himself in the Principal's Office because he had finished all his work and the school could not give him anything challenging enough to keep him busy.  The school board allowed him to skip 2nd grade. He graduated from North Cache High School in 1943 at the age of 16.1

After his service in World War II, Calvin attended Utah State University under the G.I. Bill and graduated with a bachelor's in Animal Science in 1950. Calvin married Helen Carol Noble on Feb 18, 1955 in the Logan, Utah Temple.

Military Service

World War II

Calvin enlisted in the Navy at age 17, but because the usual enlistment age was 18, he needed permission from his parents. On Dec 13, 1944, he was sent to Chicago, Illinois for the Navy's Electronics Training Program, where he was trained as a radioman and electronics technician.  Calvin received additional education at Wilbur Wright College and at Ford Motor's River Rouge plant in Dearborn, Michigan, where the military sent trainees to learn the complex tasks required to use and maintain the ship's electronic equipment.3  

By the time Calvin completed his training and began his service, Japan surrendered, ending the war on Sep 2, 1945.  After the war, Calvin joined the Naval Reserve and was sent to San Diego, California as part of the 19th Fleet. He sailed on the U.S.S. Avery Island, Fulton, and Chikaskia.3 In July 1946, while on the Chikaskia, he witnessed the nuclear tests at Bikini Atoll.4

Calvin was honorably discharged on Nov 28, 1946, in San Diego, California as an Electronic Technician's Mate Second Class UNSR-SV-6.  He was awarded the World War II Victory Medal, the Asiatic-Pacific Medal, and the American Campaign Medal.3

Korean War

After his return from Finland, Calvin enrolled in Army ROTC at Utah State University and trained as a member of the artillery branch. In 1951, Calvin was called to active duty during the Korean War and was stationed in Salzburg, Austria. There, he served as a commander of a platoon of M-3 anti-aircraft half-tracks. Each half-track was equipped with four .50 caliber M-2 machine guns mounted in a quadruple firing mount. When all four machine guns were firing, the armored half-tracks would shake. Calvin’s service in Austria coincided with the early days of the Cold War, and his unit trained to repel a possible attack by the Red Army through the Fulda Gap.

Calvin was honorably discharged in 1953 as a First Lieutenant.5

Church Service

After his marriage, Calvin was ordained as a High Priest for the Benson, Utah Stake for the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. In 1968, Calvin was ordained as the Bishop of the Young Singles Adult 11th Ward. In 1970, he was called to serve as First Counselor of the USU Singles Stake Presidency.,

After his retirement from farming, Calvin and Carol served as temple missionaries in the Washington D.C. temple from 1997-1999.

Agriculture

Finland Trip

Calvin entered a contest sponsored by Westinghouse Electric Corp. The title of his project was “My fully-electrified farm”. His pride in the advancement of farm technology was apparent in his work; he was one of the contest’s winners selected from contestants across the nation. The prize for winning the contest was a year as an exchange student in Finland. He deeply enjoyed his time in Finland and, in later years, would fondly recall his time there.

Jonsson-Merrill Farmstead

In 1955, after his marriage, Calvin purchased the destroyed Jonsson-Merrill Farmstead. It had been severely damaged in a fire between 1949-1950, and abandoned soon after. Calvin began restoring the farmstead, using some of the surrounding bricks to restore the first floor and "remodeled the handsome old barn."6

Funk Farm

In 1962, Calvin's father was ready to retire as a farmer and sell the family farm to Calvin. Calvin and his father did a home swap, switching Calvin's restored Jonsson-Merrill Farmstead for the Funk Farmstead. He was the third generation to own and operate the Funk Farmstead.

Calvin put his military education to use on the family farm and set about converting the dairy to electricity. During this time, he acquired a vacuum pump, wired the barn for electricity, and began to modernize the dairy. This marked the beginning of what would become a lifelong endeavor to modernize agriculture on the family farm.

Soul Conservation

In the 1960s, Calvin, along with Garr Christensen and other members of the Richmond Irrigation Company, began the work of replacing their ditch irrigation and pioneering the way for northern Cache County to adopt gravity-fed sprinkler irrigation. He would often speak of the countless hours he spent on his Caterpillar D-4 dozer covering the miles of newly-laid pipe.  It took about 10 years of work, but by 1976, Calvin had been honored as an "Outstanding Cooperator" by the North Cache Soil Conservation District.7

Calvin served on the Soil Conservation Service, the Utah Dairy Commission, and the Cache County Planning and Zoning.5

Black & White Days

From 1956-1966, Calvin participated as a Committee Chairman of Black & White Days, serving as General Chairman from 1965-1966.8 He was the third generation to serve as Chairman, along with his father LeRoy and grandfather Clarence, who created Black & White Days.

Epilogue