John R. Furrer

1927 - 2022

1927 - 2022

There is no greater measure of a man than to achieve over a lifetime truly astonishing accomplishments with the upmost modesty, dignity, and grace. The epitome of a gentleman, John Furrer was blessed with intellect, undying love, and a conviction of character which has touched many.

John R. Furrer, former Vice President of Corporate Development at Chicago based FMC Corporation and credited for turning around the lagging performance of the giant machinery manufacturer in the 1980s, died peacefully at his home in Vero Beach, Florida on August 22. He was 94.

Mr. Furrer began his career at American Car and Foundry (ACF), a builder of railroad, freight and passenger cars, and was sent to Spain to develop and build a high-speed passenger train of radical design, named Talgo, that is still in use throughout the country.

An Engineer at heart, Mr. Furrer formed the special products department at ACF that developed and introduced the use of piggyback and intermodal container transportation.

In 1959, Mr. Furrer joined the Central Engineering Laboratories at Food Machinery and Chemical Corporation (later to become FMC Corporation) in San Jose, California, a manufacturer of special automated machinery systems for industry and government. Within a year the division had secured a large development contract from the United States Post Office Department to automate the postal system.

The new engineering department sought work from other government agencies and industry at large and became the Engineered Systems Division of FMC, which developed and manufactured automated machinery systems.

By the late 1970s, FMC had become too diverse - agricultural chemicals, Bradley armored vehicle and oil-industry equipment, and was losing money. Mr. Furrer, as Vice President of Corporate Development - the youngest vice president in the company's history - took on the challenge of turning around the flagging financial performance of the machinery giant. Colleagues, including Chairman Robert Malott, warned him it would be a "career killer."

Using a newly developed planning system based on return on investment, Mr. Furrer's strategy succeeded in transforming FMC from a company with average returns to one of superior financial performance within the Fortune 100.

Mr. Furrer garnered both the respect and admiration of his colleagues, many of whom became close friends throughout his life.

Born in Milwaukee, where as a child he became an accomplished equestrian and violinist, Mr. Furrer graduated from the Phillips Exeter Academy in New Hampshire, and in 1945 enlisted in the Navy V-5 pilot training program. When World War II ended, Mr. Furrer chose to leave the Navy and attend Harvard College from which he graduated in 1949 with a degree in economics.

Mr. Furrer was a resident of Chicago, Vero Beach, Florida, and for many years Jackson Hole, Wyoming. A boating enthusiast, he captained Forevermore, the yacht that he and his family took up and down the Atlantic Coast, the Bahamas, Great Lakes, and into Canada.

During the first years of the 1990s Mr. Furrer accompanied by his wife and Scottish Fold cats, would spend four to five months each year cruising. They logged over six thousand nautical miles each year.

A lifelong passion for music and philanthropy led Mr. Furrer to support and become a trustee of the Ravinia Festival in Chicago and a board member of the Grand Teton Music Festival in Jackson Hole. In Vero Beach, Mr. Furrer and his wife provided support to the Indian River Medical Center, VNA Hospice House and Visiting Nurse Association, and the VNA memorial garden, "A Place for Remembering", the Vero Beach Museum of Art, and The McKee Jungle Garden. In Jackson Hole, Mr. Furrer was a proud patron of the Center For The Arts, the National Museum of Wildlife Art, St. John's Hospital, Jackson Hole Land Trust, the Grand Teton National Park, and most devotedly the Grand Teton Music Festival.

Mr. Furrer is preceded in death by his wife, and the love of his life, Annie Louise Waldo Furrer, and survived by two children, Blake (Tania Zlatoff-Mirsky) Furrer; Kimberly (James) Van Nortwick; four grandchildren, Anika Furrer, Graham Normann, John Tyler Normann, Charlotte Van Nortwick; and a great granddaughter, Olivia Normann.

The family would like to thank devoted caregivers Kerla St. Louis and Sonja Monroy for their compassionate and loving care.

In lieu of flowers, the family would be grateful for donations to The Grand Teton Music Festival in Jackson, Wyoming, and VNA Hospice House in Vero Beach, Florida.