Michael (Joey) Joseph Funtjar

Joey Funtjar was a Momma's boy who, as a child, would sit on the kitchen counter to talk while watching his mother cook. That is, until his dad introduced him to a dirt bike. While his love for Mom never waned, Joey's passion for adventure and adrenaline was born. And he spent a lifetime feeding it. The Pickerington High School grad was quirky and curious-a Renaissance Man who threw himself full throttle into anything he tried. He didn't just like music: He became a DJ. He didn't just make food: He won a national cooking contest. He didn't just try metalwork: He quit his corporate job to help launch Edgework Creative and hand-craft luxury décor. He didn't just have friends: He hosted epic dinner parties. (If you brought cheap beer that was never opened, worry not-he didn't trash it, he carried it to the homeless man down the street to enjoy.) And he wasn't just married: He sent his wife videos of himself singing, fluffed her pillow nightly and planned their extensive vacations himself. Jenny Jarvis, you see, was Joey's greatest adventure. Almost 15 years ago, he convinced her to take her first motorcycle ride on his bike, proposed during a trip to Lake Tahoe and dedicated himself to showing her the best places on Earth, usually on two wheels. By their second anniversary, they had made their way up a Colorado mountain. "It's you and me on top of the world," Joey said. "Look what we can do." They ventured off-road through America, Canada, Mexico and Spain. When Jenny was scared, she'd grip more tightly. When Joey saw something amazing, he'd squeeze her hand. He taught her to let go. To live. To love. For 37 years, Joey loved hard and unconditionally, and this crew will feel it forever: Wife Jenny Jarvis, fur babies Tito and Walter. Parents Lisa and Bill Funtjar. Sister Elizabeth (Scott) Lanter. Mother-in-law Beth Jarvis. Father-in-law Michael (Carole) Jarvis. Sister-in-law Emily (Derek) Brooks. Brother-in-law David Jarvis and girlfriend Amber Suttles. Nieces and nephew Anna and William Lanter and Sylvia and Louise Brooks. Close friend Bill Firestone. The Edgework Creative family. His Pickerington crew. His music community. His food community. His dirt biking community. And many, many more. We hope you will celebrate Joey's lust for life by planning that trip you've always wanted to take. By hosting your friends for dinner. Or by slow dancing with the person you love in your living room, right now. Here's to grabbing life by the bike handles and enjoying every moment of the ride. Thank you, Joey, for teaching us how. Joey died on May 4. A Celebration of Life service will be held at 6:30PM on Friday, May 17th at Jeffrey Mansion in Bexley, Ohio.

Arrangements By SCHOEDINGER MIDTOWN CHAPEL, 229 E. State St., Columbus, OH 43215