John T. Furze Jr.

EAST FREETOWN — John T. Furze, Jr., 61, passed away Monday, May 25th, 2009, at Brigham & Women's Hospital in Boston following a fourteen month battle with leukemia.

He was born in Fall River, residing in East Freetown for the last 31 years. He was the husband of Sandra M. (Smith) Furze and the son of the late John T. Furze, Sr. and Sophie M. (Ciepiela) Furze of Fall River, MA.

He was educated at Holy Cross Grammar School and graduated from Durfee High School in Fall River. He earned his BA in Electrical Engineering from UMASS Dartmouth and his Masters Degree in Electrical Engineering from Northeastern University.

He began his employment at Raytheon, in Waltham in 1969. In 1977, John joined the Charles Stark Draper Laboratory in Cambridge, MA. He became disabled in April of 2008, but continued to contribute to a few Draper Laboratory programs on a limited basis. Over his career he had increasing levels of responsibility at Draper Lab. His last position was Senior Program Manager for Navigation & Tracking in the Special Operations Directorate. He recently received the Director's Award for Special Achievement from the U.S. Government.

John was an avid fisherman of both salt and fresh water and truly enjoyed teaching his grandchildren how to fish. He was a member of the Rod Jockey's and the Stan Gibbs Cape Cod Canal Fisherman's Classic.

In addition to his wife and mother, he is survived by his two daughters: Erika M. Vincent and her husband, Dave of Lakeville, MA and Kimberly A. Durand and her husband ,David of Warwick, RI; as well as his two grandchildren: Abigail and Ryan Vincent. He also leaves several aunts, cousins, nieces and nephews.

A funeral service will begin at 9:00 a.m., on Friday, May 29th in the Dahlborg-MacNevin Funeral Home, 280 Bedford St., (Rt. 18) Lakeville, MA, followed by a 10:00 a.m. Mass at St. John Neumann Church, 157 Middleboro Road, East Freetown, MA 02717. Interment will follow in Sacred Heart Cemetery, New Bedford, MA. Visiting hours will be on Thursday, May 28th, 2009, from 5:00-8:00 p.m.

Memorial gifts may be made to: Dana Farber Cancer Institute, 44 Binney Street, Boston, MA 02115.

For additional information or to send a condolence to the family please visit www.d-mfh.com