Ivan LeRoy Funkhouser, 1943 - 2025
COLLINS, FUNKHOUSER, JENSEN
Posted By: Connie Swearingen (email)
Date: 11/8/2025 at 13:09:31
The Onawa Democrat
22 October 2025Ivan LeRoy Funkhouser, 82, Lochbuie, CO, passed peacefully at home on August 31, 2025, after a brief bout with cancer.
A Celebration of Life Service will be held on Sunday, November 2, 2025 at 1pm, at First Christian Church in Onawa. In lieu of flowers, donations may be made to one of Ivan's favorite charities, St. Jude Children's Research Hospital.
Ivan was born August 14, 1943, in Onawa, IA, to Edward "Blackie" and Lucille (Collins) Funkhouser. He grew up attending First Christian Church. Ivan graduated from Onawa High School in 1961. He went on to graduate from Nebraska Christian College with a degree in Christian Ministry. In 1967, he moved his family to the rural community of Lillian, NE, where he was minister at the Lillian Church of Christ. He later became minister at Anselmo Christian Church. He also worked at Becton Dickinson in Broken Bow. It was during this time that he met Ann (Jensen).
Ivan and Ann were married on July 6, 1978, and lived in Grand Island, NE, where Ivan worked various jobs, from warehouse work to night auditor.
In 1980, Ivan and Ann moved to St. Paul Park, MN. Ivan worked at a bank for a number of years. He then found the job that he enjoyed most, being a delivery driver. He thrived with this job. He thoroughly enjoyed the driving, interacting with customers, and the variety every day brought. Ivan and Ann moved to Lochbuie, CO, a suburb of Denver, in 1996, where he continued working for the same delivery company until his retirement in 2020.
Ivan was a devoted son, brother, husband, father, uncle, and grandfather. He did anything he could to help those special to him, including many neighbors and friends. He was well-known for sharing his fudge at Christmas.
Ivan is survived by his wife, Ann (Anna Marie Jensen); daughter, Janice (Terry) Barber; son, John (Stacy) Funkhouser; stepdaughters, Cheryl (Lloyd) Barta, Kathy Maret, and Debbie Downey; brother-in-law, Keith Hatt; nieces, Michele (Marlon) Schneck and Minette (Ty) Hatt, and nephew, Michael Hatt, as well as many grandchildren and great grandchildren, nieces and nephews.
He was preceded in death by his father, Edward; mother, Lucille; sister, Karen; mother-in-law, Anna Jensen; sisters-in-law Phyllis (Wayne) Krause, Arlene Kopsa, and Jean (John) Hastings, brother-in-law, Richard "Dick" Jensen, and grandson, Tyler Erives.
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