Glaida Funk, the longtime matriarch of the landmark Funks Grove Pure Maple Sirup near Funks Grove, Illinois, died Friday. She was 94.
The Bloomington Pantagraph in nearby Bloomington posted a death notice, but arrangements were incomplete Sunday night at Calvert & Metzler Memorial Home in Bloomington. We’ll post more information when it becomes available.
Terri Ryburn, who operates Ryburn Place in a historic gas station on Route 66 in nearby Normal, Illinois, broke the news Sunday on the Route 66 Travelers page on Facebook.
“So sad about this,” Ryburn wrote. “She was such a dear person who genuinely loved people and was so excited about meeting Route 66 traveler.”
Glaida’s husband, Steve, died in 2015 at age 90. They had been married for about 70 years. He and his wife had been running the maple syrup operation at the farm there just off Route 66 since 1947.
Here’s an interview KC Keefer did with Glaida about six years ago for his Genuine Route 66 Life video series:
And here’s Anthony Reichardt’s interviews with her back in the 1990s for his eventual 1959 Cadillac on Route 66 video series.
Mike and Debby Funk, along with nephew Sean Funk and their son, Jonathan, continue to run the operation. The sap rises in the farm’s original stand of maple trees in late January or February, and they sell their sirup in March until it’s sold out.
The Funk family has run its maple sirup operation commercially since 1891 and has tapped its trees to make its own sugar since 1824.
As for the spelling of “sirup” instead of “syrup,” Funks Grove uses the former because of a 1920s definition of the words in a Webster’s dictionary. “Syrup” meant adding sugar to juice; “sirup” meant boiling sap for sugar. The “i” indicated it was a pure product, which is what the Funks desired to convey in their marketing.
UPDATE: The Pantagraph posted a full obituary Monday night.
A private family memorial service is planned at a later date. Those wishing to give memorials may consider the McLean United Methodist Church, Sugar Grove Nature Center, or a charity of their choice.
(Image of Glaida Funk and granddaughter Betsy Funk, daughter of Mike and Debby Funk, behind the sales counter in 1984 via the Funks Grove Pure Maple Sirup website)
I stopped by a few years ago, on my way back East on ’66. I had the time zone wrong, and was too early. I sat in my car, reading the newspaper. Mrs Funk came out of her house in a drizzle, apologized that her kids didn’t want her working anymore. She had called her son, and he was on his way to open for me!!! A great lady, a good family. Only place I buy maple syrup, and other goodies, too.
Thanks for posting this, Ron. Ron Miles and I enjoyed meeting Glaida in August 2001. She was such a lovely, welcoming lady. It was on our first day of driving Route 66 and we had left Chicago that morning on my 66th birthday, driving my 1993 Fiat Panda. We sampled the sirup and I bought a bottle to have with my breakfast cereal when we returned to England in September. It was in Glaida’s little shop that I first saw, displayed on her back wall, Ken Turmell’s “Postmark Art” poster with all the historic post office marks and signatures.
Glaida, It was always a blessing to be able to have a conversation with you. Now You be back with Steve. RIP together. God Bless. Sympathies to the Funk family and friends.
Do you realize that she was the same age as Route 66? She cut the 90th birthday cake for Route 66 at the 2016 Miles of Possibility conference held in Bloomington, Illinois, without revealing to anyone that she turned 90 that year.
Glad we have this wonderful history on video taken by our Roadie friends. What a wonderful lady
and great spokesperson for the family. The Funk’s part of Illinois history is remarkable from their seed business, farming innovations, and having had Abraham Lincoln as their attorney in their earliest days! I was amazed to find this rich history in addition to the best sirup business ever!