Former Port McNeill mayor Gerry Furney dead at 85
Former Port McNeill mayor Gerry Furney, who played a major role in opening up the northeast of Vancouver Island, has died at age 85.
Furney served on Port McNeill council for 46 years, and was mayor for 39. He retired in 2014 and had been in ill health recently.
The businessman, originally from Ireland, took Port McNeill to his heart, becoming a tireless and creative advocate for developing the northern part of the island.
He promoted industry, and worked with forestry companies and fish farm owners to provide investment and jobs for local residents.
Premier John Horgan said on Twitter that he was sad to hear of Furney’s death and that his thoughts are with wife Caramel, and children James and Liza.
“He was a local giant who will be much missed. We shared a birthday and Irish ancestry,” Horgan said.
Port McNeill Mayor Gaby Wickstrom said in a statement that it is with “heavy hearts today we are informing you of the passing of former mayor Gerry Furney.”
She described him as larger than life, approachable, kind, and a community leader. “He was such an integral part of Port McNeill’s history, it’s hard to imagine him not seated at the coffee shop window, chatting and smiling at passersby. Our hearts and prayers are with his family during this difficult time.”
Furney died in hospital in Port McNeill on Monday, surrounded by his family, Wickstrom said.
Stories abound about Furney, his humour and his ability to rally support for projects. “People would say that he built the community,” Wickstrom said in an interview.
Wickstrom recalled one story about Furney staging what he called the Shillelagh Pothole Golf tournament to draw attention to the lack of paved roads in the town.
She couldn’t remember the year it happened but said the story is that the tournament prompted the province, which was paving the highway nearby, to say if Port McNeill could get roads prepared for paving, they would pave as many roads as were ready.
So Furney and others mobilized local industry to take on the preparation work. Wickstrom said: “He often said, ‘They were probably shocked when they came at the amount of paving that they had to do.’ ”