Two Opportunities to
Donate on behalf of Don
Mission Aviation Fellowship (MAF)
From a very young age, Don knew he wanted to grow up to be a missionary pilot, inspired in part by the death of a family friend who was shot down over Mexico. Shortly after he married his wife Mary, they started their life together serving God in Africa with Mission Aviation Fellowship (MAF).
Initially, Don flew in Chad and the Ivory Coast while Mary served as an accountant in Mali. After a couple months however, they settled into the missionary compound in Kinshasa, Zaire (now the Democratic Republic of Congo). As a pilot, Don flew all over Africa, bringing food to remote villages during times of famine, providing medical transportation, and flying missionaries to remote villages. Don started out as a pilot/airplane mechanic in June 1985, and later served as Manager of Flight Standards and then was promoted to Chief Pilot in 1986.
Don and Mary left Africa in February 1987, shortly after their daughter was born, due to political unrest and safety concerns. Don believed God had called them back to the Pacific Northwest to work for Horizon Airlines, but they stated often that they planned to go back to Africa with MAF when the timing was right.
In honor of Don’s passion for missions and aviation, please consider donating to MAF on his behalf. There are 4 programs to choose to donate to: Plane Maintenance & Safety, Fuel Fund, Medical Flights, and Disaster Response Fund.
2. The Funk Foundation
When Don’s wife Mary became wheelchair bound in 2009 due to paraneoplastic syndrome, Don made it his mission to make life as enjoyable and accessible as possible for her. They loved riding bikes, so Don had a special bike built that they could ride together. He got an ADA accessible RV so they could continue to go camping and enjoy the great outdoors. As a Colorado native, Mary loved to ski, so Don and her brothers arranged a ski day through an adaptive program at Breckenridge Ski Resort. He even researched a special wheelchair from Freedom Trax that allowed Mary to drive a wheelchair on the beach, one of her favorite places that she could no longer get access to with a regular wheelchair. None of this was easy however, and after 10 years of living in her wheelchair, Don and his family learned that unfortunately not everything is ADA friendly or accessible.
Shortly after Mary passed away in January 2019, Don’s nephew, Tyler Funk, suffered a C5 vertebrae injury while snowboarding in Denver, CO. He spent 2 weeks in the neuro ICU and later transitioned to inpatient rehab at Craig hospital. Tyler has been in a wheelchair since his accident, and has fought incredibly hard every single day to regain his strength and improve his mobility. He admirably has refused to accept anyone telling him that he can’t do something because of his disability and he is learning to walk again, drives independently, manages a construction company, and is an amazing husband and father to his wife Sarah and son Axel.
Since his injury in May 2019, Tyler has made it his goal to “VIP the ADA” and founded the Funk Foundation. Their mission is to to improve the lives of those affected by a life altering injury by helping them experience, play, and produce music. The Funk Foundation is raising awareness for spinal cord injuries and is fighting to improve the access and quality of life for those in wheelchairs. Don was so proud of Tyler and what he was doing for the ADA community, so please consider giving in honor of Don to the Funk Foundation. Together we can VIP the ADA!