Individual Details

Death

BIRD ISLAND — Dr. Leo O. Furr, 79, of Bird Island died Sunday at Rice Memorial Hospital in Willmar. The service will be at 1:15 p.m. Wednesday at St. Mary’s Catholic Church in Bird Island. Burial will be in the church cemetery. Visitation will be from 4 to 8 p.m. Tuesday, with a prayer service at 7 p.m., at Dirks-Blem Funeral Home in Bird Island and from noon to 1 p.m. Wednesday at the funeral home. He was born March 3, 1928, in Estelline, S.D. He graduated from Sacred Heart High School in Waseca, from St. Thomas College in St. Paul and from St. Louis University Medical School in St. Louis, Mo. He took his internship at St. Joseph’s Hospital and served two years as a medical doctor in the Air Force in Long Beach, Calif. He married Yvonne Simon on Aug. 2, 1952, in Somerset, Wis. After serving in the Air Force, he took a surgical residence at St. Joseph’s Hospital in St. Paul. He started practicing medicine in Bird Island in 1956. He was the Renville County coroner for 20 years. He was a member of the Knights of Columbus for 60 years and served as grand knight. He was a charter member of the Bird Island Lions Club. He is survived by his wife; his children: Joan (and Dale) Thorpe of Phoenix, Ariz., Kathleen (and Bob) Fesenmaier of Olivia, Tim (and Cindy) Furr of Lake Lillian, Michelle Furr of Bird Island; eight grandchildren; brothers: Tom (and Betty) Furr, Chuck Furr; sisters: Zita (and Cliff) Mittelstaedt, Rita (and Jack) Eggert, Gertrude (and Mahlon) Grubish, Margaret (and Norm) Dayone, Loretta Olson, Ramona (and Tony) Tonga; stepsisters: Eileen Kott, Mary Brixius; stepbrothers: Leo (and Phyllis) Boucher, Tom (and Norma) Boucher; half-sisters: Ann (and Dan) Pote and Laure (and Brian) Draeger. He was preceded in death by his parents, his stepmother and two brothers.
West Central Tribune, Willmar, Minnesota, November 12, 2007