The Grand Funk family endured another tragedy last week with the death of Jesse Farner, the 29-year old son of the band’s former singer and guitarist Mark Farner.
This comes just months after the death of bassist Mel Schacher’s wife Dena from cancer.
Commenting on the loss of their son, Mark and his wife Lesia [pr: Lisa] said, “Jesse gained his Independence back after his long Earthly journey came to an end the night of July 4th. To us, his family, he was the bravest soul we’ve ever had the privilege of loving. He was a Son, a Brother, a Friend and a Comrade to many. His absence of Body leaves a big void but … His Spirit lives strong in our hearts.”
On July 3rd, 2010, while on a camping trip with friends, Jesse was doing back flips off a table and broke his neck, rendering him a quadriplegic. Despite the setback, Jesse worked hard to overcome this setback, even becoming independent enough to operate his wheelchair by blowing into a tube.
Mark Farner on his son Jesse and what he was able to do after becoming a quadriplegic: