Bernard Wade
Effie Jo Wade
Bernard Wade & Effie Jo Wade (Jensen)
Bernard Wade was born in Akron, Ohio on October 25, 1917. He was raised in Akron by his
parents, Elizabeth and Marshall Wade. By the time he graduated from High School be was totally committed to an aviation career. He spent almost every day at the airfield doing what ever he could to get time in a cockpit. He made friends with twin brothers, Joe and Howard Funk. They travelled all over Ohio, Pennsylvania and New York barnstorming airplanes and gliders. Howard Funk had a gift for design and drew up plans for a two-place airplane. The three of them built the prototype in a backyard chicken coup and the Funk Aircraft Co. was born.
Effie Jo Jensen was born in Coffeyville, Kansas on February 20, 1924. Her parents were Mellie and
Ray Jensen. Mellie and her sister, Effie Bliss were part of a large family that moved from Kentucky and homesteaded Custer County Nebraska in the late 1800s. Ray Jensen and his brother Bill’s father immigrated from Denmark, landed in Nebraska. The two brothers married the two sisters. The couples made the Sooner Run in Oklahoma and homesteaded near Nowata, Oklahoma. The two brothers opened a mechanic repair shop in Nowata. Although Ray only had an elementary education, he was a constant tinkerer and inventor. In the late 1920 he had invented and built a
company producing “rocking arm pump jacks “for the oil industry in Texas and Oklahoma. They moved to Coffeyville in the 1930s. Effie Jo attended school in Coffeyville and went to college at Monticello in Missouri. She was also an aviator and received her pilots license on her 16th birthday.
The youngest woman pilot in the nation!
The airplane company almost immediately fell on hard times and had to file for bankruptcy. The
three young entrepreneurs split up and went to work. Bernard went to work for Bell Aircraft, later
Bell Helicopter, in Buffalo, New York. In the meantime, Ray Jensen had a vision that Coffeyville needed to join the aviation industry that was starting to flourish in Wichita. Cessna, Beech, Waco and others were all building airplanes at a fast pace. Being a frugal businessman, Ray saw an opportunity in a bankrupt airplane company in Akron. He traveled there, bought Funk
Aircraft and hired the Funk brothers and moved them to Jensen Field in South Coffeyville, Oklahoma. They lived in company houses at the airfield and it wasn’t long before they needed a plant manager. Bernard got a letter from Howard telling him about their plans and described their beautiful office secretary. He sent a picture of Effie Jo and Bernard immediately quit his job and headed for Coffeyville.
The three commenced building the Funk airplane. It was a two seat, single engine using a
modified Ford Model A 4-cylinder engine. They built airplanes until the start of World War II. Bernard joined the Navy and trained as a Carrier Pilot. He was ordered to report for duty on the aircraft carrier Yorktown. Fortunately, or unfortunately, the Yorktown was sunk in the Battle of
Midway. Almost all the crew and aircraft were saved and brought back by the aircraft carrier Lexington. The Navy did not need any more carrier pilots and Bernard was reassigned as an instructor at Pensacola Naval Air Station for the balance of the war. On October 15, 1943 Bernard and Effie Jo were married in Coffeyville. A marriage that would last 67 years. They had two sons, Dick and Bill Wade.
After the war Bernard returned to Coffeyville and began producing airplanes. Funk Aircraft
produced over 1,000 aircraft. A number are still flying today. At the end of the 1940s, Howard Funk designed a revolutionary automatic transmission for tractors. The Funk Reverse-o-matic. They had been a good customer of Ford Automotive and took the plans to Detroit and presented them to the Tractor Division. Ford said yes and told them they would buy all they could produce.
Funk Aircraft became Funk Manufacturing and the company began cutting gears. Howard was the designer; Joe was the salesman and Bernard ran production. They built transmissions until the company was devastated by a fire that destroyed the manufacturing plant in 1954. An $8,000,000 loss with no insurance!
Ray Jensen invited the three to join Jensen Manufacturing, but they were committed to rebuild the transmission company. They raised enough capital from successful businessmen in Coffeyville to build a new plant in Coffeyville. The company thrived and grew. Other types of transmissions and power takeoffs were designed, manufactured and sold to not only Ford but a “who’s who” of heavy machinery manufactures. In 1964, Funk Manufacturing was acquired by Gardner Denver Corp, a Fortune 500 company. Then in 1964 the Funk Manufacturing Division was acquired by Cooper Co., a Fortune 50 company. In 1990, Funk Manufacturing Division was acquired by John Deere.
Effie Jo and Bernard led a full and successful life. They had many personal and business
successes, but their primary enjoyment was their family and being part of
Coffeyville. Two sons, three
grandchildren and six great grandchildren have left a wonderful legacy. Effie Jo passed on March 25, 2011 followed by
Bernard on February 10, 2013.