The Golf Association was saddened to hear that former volunteer Heather Furlong passed away on Sept. 11 at the age of 72. Furlong had been a tournament scoring volunteer from 2007-2013. The GAO would like to send their condolences to her family. Below is Furlong’s obituary from the Waterloo Region Record.
Heather passed away peacefully at Sakura House Hospice on September 11, 2014, at the age of 72, after a long and courageous battle with cancer. Heather had a loving and wonderful life for 51 years with her best friend and husband Jim. She was a great mum to Deb Duimering (Richard) of Gorrie, Brock Furlong (Jill) of Chicago and Scott Furlong (Nonie Lesaux) of Boston, and a special grandma to Connor, Emily, Jacob, Hannah, John and Morgan. She is survived by her brother Murray Cree (Pat) and niece Kate Cree (Patrick Peeling) of Qualicum Beach, Vancouver Island.
Heather was born in Victoria, B.C. on February 7, 1942. By the age of ten Heather had lived in Victoria, Halifax, Regina, Aldergrove and finally Qualicum Beach. She took her nursing training at the Royal Jubilee Hospital in Victoria, and graduated as an RN in 1963. After working for three months she received an unusual proposal by phone, accepted, married Jim, and they moved to Germany for three years. For ten summers she was a nurse at Camp Tawingo. While there she helped write a camp nursing manual to benefit others who would be helping young people in this special setting. For 23 years Heather was a nurse/receptionist for Dr. Bateman, an ophthalmologist, where her empathy skills were always at work. Heather was an excellent seamstress, and the first purchase in the marriage was a sewing machine. Everyone in the family, as well as some friends, wore clothes made by Heather. She loved to cook, garden, and dabble at weaving and art, but her favourite enjoyment came from being with family and friends.She was a volunteer with the Golf Association of Ontario and a member of PROBUS.
Special thanks to the kind and caring staff at Sakura House and the awesome doctors and nurses at the Grand River Cancer Clinic, especially Dr. Carolyn Campbell. The family is so very thankful for the kindness, visits, thoughts and prayers from friends and neighbours. It gave great strength to Heather.
Heather’s family will receive friends from 2:30-4:30 and 7-9 p.m. on Saturday, September 20, 2014 at the Henry Walser Funeral Home, 507 Frederick Street Kitchener, (519) 749-8467. Cremation has taken place and a private family service will be held at a later date. As expressions of sympathy, donations can be made to the Grand River Regional Cancer Centre, Sakura House Hospice or the charity of your choice. Visit www.henrywalser.com for Heather’s memorial.
