Bernice Funk Cade

Bernice was born on October 24th, 1949, and passed away on August 15th, 2026, following a medical crisis. She passed peacefully at Harborview Hospital, Seattle, after a week surrounded by friends and family. Bernice was an exuberant and tireless advocate for justice, particularly for the most vulnerable. She brought a vivacious energy to everything that she did.
Bernice was born in Rolla, Missouri, to her loving parents, Ruth and Campbell Funk, the first of four siblings. The family moved to Fair Oaks, California, where she attended Bella Vista High School. There she made lifelong friends and danced as a sports dance leader, and she graduated as class valedictorian from her large senior class.
She attended the University of California San Diego, where she was influenced by Herbert Marcuse and his protégé Angela Davis. After graduating with her BA in sociology in 1971, she joined the VISTA program where she moved to Arkansas to support the local Headstart program. She first moved to Seattle in 1973 where she was assigned to work with the Operational Emergency Center (OEC), generating employment options for African-American men, which included involvement in a prison pre-release program for inmates from Monroe prison.
Bernice returned to California to pursue her JD degree at the UC Davis Martin Luther King, Jr. School of Law, where she graduated in 1983. She returned to Seattle and opened up a solo practice and joined the National Lawyers Guild, where she was very active for decades. Soon she was working on a case concerning fair wages, and equal access to promotion for several ships' engineers on the Alaska ferry system (Alaska Marine Highway). This lawsuit led to more just rules, and she met the love of her life, Wesley Cade. They married in 1994. Wes was out to sea often as a ship’s engineer before shifting to shore-side work supporting shipbuilding design. Meanwhile, Bernice worked in real estate law and then developed an immigration law practice that enabled her to help a multitude of clients from countries around the world. Her relentless effort saved many clients and their families.
In the 1990s, Bernice represented Helen Clemente, a Filipina victim of trafficking and domestic slavery. The case caused massive outrage when it came to the public’s attention in 1999. Activists, civil rights groups, and Seattle’s Filipino American community held widespread rallies, protesting the INS decision to deport the victim of domestic slavery while letting the perpetrators escape accountability. State Representatives Velma Veloria and Al O’Brien were prominent advocates. This case directly energized Washington state to pass some of the earliest, most robust anti human trafficking laws in the United States.
Later, Bernice represented Safouh Hamoui, a former Syrian military pilot and Seattle-area grocery store owner who became a prominent face of post-9/11 civil rights abuses. He, his wife, and his eldest daughter were imprisoned after the post-September 11 "Patriot Act" crackdown, leading to community protests and a protracted legal battle. In 2004, the 9th Circuit Court of Appeals released the Hamouis, ruling that sending them back to Syria would violate international torture conventions. The case was featured in the ACLU documentary "Unconstitutional: The War on Our Civil Liberties", and in Washington Law and Politics magazine in 2008.
For a period, Bernice and Wes were regular members of a downtown Seattle Methodist Church. Thereafter, for many years Bernice and Wes were very active members of the Bethany UCC Church on Beacon Hill, where Bernice volunteered as bookkeeper and Treasurer and Wes volunteered as handyman extraordinaire.
Throughout her life, Bernice was an avid ballerina, and dance was a vital part of her world. She and Wes enjoyed camping and traveling, and they were also skiers, both water and snow. They loved nourishing, beautiful flowers in their garden. They loved each other with all of their hearts.
Bernice is survived by Wes, and her siblings Kay, Mack, and Jack Funk, and their spouses and children. They will all miss her vitality and positivity. She made the world a better place with her infectious joy and her constant struggle for the marginalized members of our society.
A Memorial Service will be held on Bernice's birthday, October 24, 2026, 2:00 PM at Bethany United Church of Christ, 6230 Beacon Ave S. Seattle, WA.
We invite you to send memorial gifts to the National Lawyers Guild Immigration Project at nipnlg.org/other-ways-donate, or to the Northwest Immigrant Rights Project at nwirp.org/donate.