SENATE RESOLUTION
8731



By Senators Haugen, Spanel and Esser

     WHEREAS, Through photojournalism, Wallie V. Funk enriched our connection with the past by vividly depicting three decades of life on Whidbey Island, in Washington state, across the nation, and throughout the world; and
     WHEREAS, Funk recently donated his personal archive of nearly 100,000 photographs and negatives to three institutions: The Center for Pacific Northwest Studies at Western Washington University, the Anacortes Museum, and the Island County Historical Museum; and
     WHEREAS, His collection documents 20th century life with photographs of the Beatles and the Rolling Stones in Seattle, four different United States presidents, and a series of photographs spanning the political career of the late United States Senator Henry Jackson; and
     WHEREAS, His most dramatic series of photographs graphically documents the capture of the orca whale "Lolita" near Coupeville in 1970, helping bring attention to the damage done to these magnificent creatures; and
     WHEREAS, He took photographs in China, Greece, Israel, Egypt, and Pakistan when he visited as a member of the Washington State Trade Delegation, yet the bulk of his collection chronicles everyday scenes of life on Whidbey Island and Fidalgo Island - children at play, high school athletics, small town politicians speaking at community events, and old fishermen holding up their catches of the day; and
     WHEREAS, His collection also includes numerous photographs of the Whidbey Island Naval Air Station, serving as a photographic archive of the military base; and
     WHEREAS, He was the dedicated coowner of three community newspapers - the Whidbey News-Times, the South Whidbey Record, and the Anacortes American - and he served as president of the Washington Newspaper Publishers Association from 1971 to 1972; and
     WHEREAS, Funk served on the Washington State Arts Commission for 10 years and worked toward establishing the Museum of Northwest Art in LaConner; and
     WHEREAS, Historian Theresa Trebon worked for nearly three years to catalog and archive Funk's massive photograph collection;
     NOW, THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED, That the Washington State Senate honor Wallie V. Funk for his dedication to capturing and preserving Washington's history one picture at a time; and
     BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED, That copies of this resolution be immediately transmitted by the Secretary of the Senate to Wallie V. Funk.

I, Milton H. Doumit, Jr., Secretary of the Senate,
do hereby certify that this is a true and
correct copy of Senate Resolution 8731,
adopted by the Senate
March 8, 2004



MILTON H. DOUMIT, JR.
Secretary of the Senate