A lifetime on the water: Bill Funk celebrates 93 years of adventure

MANTI—William Hackwell Funk, known as Bill, recently celebrated his 93rd birthday on June 10 and has reflected on a lifetime shaped by the legacy of his grandfathers.

Described by his wife, Bridget, as having a buoyant character, Bill said he feels a strong connection to his grandfather, William DeMill Funk Jr., and his second-great-grandfather, Daniel Buckley Funk, through a life centered on water, from childhood recreation at Funk’s Lake to service in the U.S. Navy and a career as a limnologist.

Bill grew up swimming and dancing at Palisade Lake, originally known as Funk’s Lake, which was named for Daniel Buckley Funk, who engineered the lake in 1873.

Bill recently wrote an abbreviated history of Daniel Buckley Funk and Funk’s Lake. “I’m one breath away from Daniel Buckley Funk,” Bill said, explaining that he learned much of the family’s history from his grandfather.

He recalled traveling on horseback with William DeMill Funk Jr. through Six Mile Canyon and the ponds developed by Daniel Buckley Funk. Beginning around age 11 in the early 1940s, Bill spent several five-day horseback trips with his grandfather, listening to stories about Daniel Buckley Funk and committing them to memory.

William DeMill Funk Jr., born in 1868 and a grandson of Daniel Buckley Funk, grew up near Funk’s Lake.

William DeMill Funk Jr. was among the first forest officers of the Manti-La Sal National Forest, alongside Beauregard Kenner. Bill shared a family photograph of the two men and said they patrolled from Sanpete County to Marysvale during the early 1900s.

Bill said large numbers of sheep grazed throughout Sanpete County during that era, and overgrazing contributed to repeated flooding. A petition led the federal government to begin regulating grazing permits, replacing the free-range practices that had existed since settlement. The Manti-La Sal National Forest was established soon afterward, and William DeMill Funk Jr. became one of its first officers. Bill said his grandfather also helped improve local drinking water before later serving as water master for the southwest part of Manti.

In addition to horseback trips, Bill spent much of his youth at Funk’s Lake. He visited at least weekly during the summer and recalled that local grade school classes visited each spring. Hitchhiking from Manti to the lake was common among local youth and was generally considered safe at the time.

Bill swam across the lake once as a teenager. He credited lifeguard Keith Peterson with teaching him how to use buoyancy to rest during long-distance swimming, allowing him to pause halfway across. Bill said he believes crossing the lake east to west was difficult enough and doubts anyone has swum its full north-to-south length.

Inspired in part by his grandfather’s steamboat on Funk’s Lake, Bill developed an early interest in boats. Around age 14 or 15, he built a raft, and in his early 20s he and his brother, Brent, built a mahogany speedboat powered by a 250-cubic-inch truck engine. The boat could pull water skiers at about 25 mph and reached more than 61 mph during testing.

“There wasn’t enough lake to get the full speed,” Bill said.

He said the boat’s small rudder required nearly half the lake to complete a turn during races.

Bill also recalled meeting Sherry Mellor while water skiing at Funk’s Lake. After asking him to teach her to water ski, the two planned a dinner date, but she later called to explain she was engaged. Two years later, she contacted him again while he was visiting Manti and asked for a ride to Salt Lake City.

“I’m single now. I’m not engaged anymore,” she told him.

“Two years later we were married,” Bill said.

Sherry later died of breast cancer at age 43.

Bill served in the U.S. Navy during the Korean War and said the experience exposed him to a wide variety of responsibilities, including serving as education officer, training officer, gunnery officer, combat officer, information officer and boat officer.

“Lots of jobs led to lots of experiences,” Bill said.

He recalled goodwill visits around the world and remembered returning to Sasebo, Japan, a year after accidentally leaving a sweater on the dock, only to have a local resident return it to him.

Bill also took advantage of educational opportunities while serving in the Navy, completing training courses that included instruction from Yale University professors.

After military service, Bill attended the University of Utah before transferring to Washington State University (WSU), where he established a career in limnology, the study of inland aquatic ecosystems.

Bill said he was willing to take risks throughout his career, something he attributes to the example set by his grandfathers. Rather than supervising the typical three graduate students as a research professor, he organized a research team of nine or more, with doctoral students mentoring master’s students.

One of his earliest major projects came in 1968 at Liberty Lake. After sampling the water, Bill determined the lake should be treated with 250 tons of aluminum sulfate. He instructed that the shipment be delivered directly to the lake rather than the university, though a secretary initially assumed he meant ounces instead of tons.

Using what he described as Sanpete ingenuity, Bill and his team designed a barge equipped with a trough and pump to distribute the aluminum sulfate across the lake. The treatment improved water clarity from about 8 inches to approximately 25 feet.

About a decade later, actor Robert Redford approached WSU and Bill’s staff to help establish an Institute for Resource Management.

Bill said the connection reminded him of his family’s history because Redford, best known for portraying the Sundance Kid, spent time in the mountains near Manti while researching the role. According to William DeMill Funk Jr.’s oral history, members of Butch Cassidy’s gang occasionally worked at Funk’s Lake cutting ice and preparing fish for shipment north.

Bill and his wife, Bridget, whom he met over coffee in Idaho and learned was a pilot, returned to Manti in 1999. They now live in Bill’s childhood home, which William DeMill Funk Jr. built using hand tools.

Reflecting on the legacy of Daniel Buckley Funk, Bill said watching both his grandfather and father work taught him to develop whatever talents he possessed.

“I have taken advantage of just about everything that’s been thrown my way, and for one reason or another it’s all been kind of a big circular pattern,” Bill said.

Bill also wondered, “Where did his talent end?” referring to Daniel Buckley Funk.

Bill will share the oral history of Daniel Buckley Funk during the Funk Legacy Celebration at 11 a.m. Saturday, Aug. 8, at Manti City Park. The event is open to the public.