John William "Bill" Furgason

BLISSFIELD - John William "Bill" Furgason, 93, passed away on Saturday, October 28, 2023 at Blissfield Place. Bill was born July 21, 1930 in Tecumseh, MI to Bernard and Lila (Matthews) Furgason. He married Athena Caristianos in 1951 in Clinton, MI. They were married for 30 years until her death in 1981. He then married Madeline (Anderson) Walker and she preceded him in death in 1986. Bill married Elaine (Iffland) Nichelson in 1987 and they enjoyed many winters together in Florida until her death in 1999. Bill was employed by Standard Oil from 1950 until 1968. He then became a Sales Agent for AAA Insurance until he retired in 1992. Bill enjoyed being a member of the Blissfield Volunteer Fire Dept. from 1960 until 1981, was a Councilman for the Village of Blissfield from 1966 to 1980 and served many years on the Blissfield Planning Commission. During the 60's and 70's Bill drove a school bus for Blissfield Public Schools and treasured driving the players’ team bus to almost all of the football and basketball games. He was also a member of the Kiwanis Club and volunteered his time coaching the Kiwanis team for the high school summer baseball league. During retirement, Bill liked to spend his free time reading and putting puzzles together. He was very proud of the Comerica Park (Tiger's Baseball) puzzle that he completed with the help of some of his friends at Blissfield Place, especially Susie. This puzzle hung on Bill’s apartment wall at Blissfield Place for over a year. Bill is survived by his daughter Kathy Beal of Adrian and son Michael (Tina) Furgason of Temperance; stepchildren Loraine (Kim) Cranor, Connie (Jerry) Schneider, Matt (Sue) Nichelson, Vickie (Dick) Wetli, Cindi Walker and Kirk Walker; grandchildren Michelle (Ziggy) Zimmanck and Andrew Beal and step-grandchildren Joshua and Jonathan Bennett and Amanda Cribs, great-grandsons Braden and Eli Beal. Bill had many other step-grandchildren as well as many, many nieces and nephews. Very special to Bill were nieces Carol Love and Marcia Gilson who spent many hours with him in his last few years. Bill is survived by one sister Josephine Ross of Tecumseh. He was preceded in death by his parents; three wives; five brothers, Gordon, Glenn, Dick, Harold and Ernest Furgason and five sisters, Verna Rowe, Vivan Woods, Mary Cox, Shirley Schadewald and Ruth Greenman. Bill was also preceded in death by very special friend of twenty-two years, Rosemary Luce. Visitation for Bill will be on Thursday, November 2, 2023, from 4:00 to 8:00 p.m. at the Wagley Funeral Home, Tagsold Chapel in Blissfield. A private burial in Pleasant View Cemetery will be held on Friday morning for the family. Memorial contributions are suggested for Blissfield Place or the Blissfield Fire Dept. Online condolences and memories may be shared at www.WagleyFuneralHomes.com

John William "Bill" Furgason

July 21, 1930 - October 28, 2023