Barbara Funkhouser, El Paso Times
Barbara Funkhouser

Barbara Funkhouser, El Paso Times

El Paso Times Editor - first woman editor of The El Paso Times. Barbara Funkhouser is the only female editor in the newspaper's 133-year history. She was editor from 1980 to 1986. Funkhouser began her career in 1958 as a freelancer for a year, then worked for a Las Cruces paper for a year before being hired at the El Paso Times. Funkhouser also wrote the coffee-table book, "The Caregivers: El Paso's Medical History, 1898-1998." Funkhouser was born March 1, 1930, at Hotel Dieu hospital and was raised on a farm in Fairacres, near Las Cruces, that her parents had owned since 1924. Her father died when she was 6, and her mother ran the farm with the help of hired labor, according to an oral history she did in 1996 with the New Mexico Farm and Ranch Heritage Museum. She graduated from Las Cruces Union High School and from New Mexico State University in 1952. She spent six months in Europe on a 4-H Club exchange program and then worked for five years for the 4-H organization in Washington, D. C., and Chicago, before returning to New Mexico and beginning her career as a journalist, according to the oral history. During her 30-year career at the El Paso Times, Funkhouser interviewed singer-artist Vikki Carr in 1973 and 21-year-old Kurt Russell when he joined the El Paso Sun Kings baseball team. Funkhouser also covered the El Paso premiere of the 1968 film "Firecreek", and interviewed James Stewart, Barbara Luna, director Vincent McEveety and screenwriter Calvin Clements. Funkhouser retired from the El Paso Times on June 1, 1990. She taught at New Mexico State University and was a part-time editorial writer for the Las Cruces Sun-News for several years. (Source: Alex Hinojosa, Robert Moore, El Paso Times article written August 18, 2014) March is Women's History Month

Area: Central / Downtown

Source: El Paso County Historical Society

Reference ID: 013-1984-050

Uploaded by: El Paso Museum of History

Comments

Add a comment
Thank you for your comment

Report this entry

Choose the most important reason for this report

Your name

Your email address

Optional detail

Thank you for your report

More from the same community-collection

Peter de Wetter

Peter de Wetter was the mayor of El Paso from 1969-1971.

Ashley G. Classen, Mayor, El Paso, TX circa 1969

Ashley G. Classen was the mayor of El Paso, his term was in ...

Daniel L. P. Duke

Daniel L. P. Duke was the mayor of El Paso from 1949-1951.

Dan R. Ponder

Dan R. Ponder was the mayor of El Paso from 1947-1949.

Mayor - Richard M. Dudley 1923-1925 - El Paso, Texas

Mayor 1923-1925. Richard M. Dudley, engineer and El Paso mayor, ...

Charles Davis

Charles Davis was the mayor of El Paso from 1917-1923.

B. F. Hammett

B. F. Hammett was the mayor of El Paso from 1901-1903.

R.F. Campbell

R.F. Campbell was the mayor of El Paso from 1895-1897.

Joseph Magoffin - Mayor 1881 - 1885

Joseph Magoffin was the mayor of El Paso during four separate ...

Solomon Schultz - Mayor 1880 - 1881

Solomon Schultz was mayor of El Paso from 1880-1881.

Don Henderson

Don Henderson was the mayor of El Paso from 1975-1977.

Fred Hervey - Mayor - 1951

Fred Hervey was the mayor of El Paso from 1973-1975. Fred was ...

Bert Williams

Bert Williams was the mayor of El Paso from 1971-1973. He died ...

John Cook Mayor 2005-2013

John Cook was mayor of El Paso, Texas from 2005-2013.

Joe Wardy

Joe Wardy was mayor of El Paso from 2003-2005.

Jonathan W. Rogers

Jonathan W. Rogers was mayor of El Paso from 1981-1989.

Thomas D. Westfall

Thomas D. Westfall was the mayor of El Paso from 1979-1981.

Ray Salazar

Ray Salazar was the mayor of El Paso from 1977-1979.

Dr. Judson F. Williams - Mayor 1963-1969

Dr. Judson F. Williams was the mayor of El Paso from 1963-1969. ...

Ralph E. Seitsinger

Ralph E. Seitsinger was the mayor of El Paso from 1961-1963.

Raymond Telles- Mayor 1957-1959

Raymond Telles was the mayor of El Paso from 1957-1959. Telles ...

John E. Anderson- Mayor 1939-1947 - El Paso, Texas

John E. Anderson was the 25th mayor of El Paso, Texas - his term ...

M. A. Harlan,Mayor El Paso Texas 1937-1939

M. A. Harlan was the 24th mayor of El Paso, his term was from ...

home.search_collection