John Edwin Furrow of Mullen, NE passed away April 27th, 2020. John was born to Lyle E. and Gladys G (VanDuesen) Furrow in their home south of Mullen. John was the youngest of six children that Lyle and Gladys raised in south Hooker County. John was a 1958 graduate of Mullen High School. After high school, John enlisted in the Army in 1958. He served in Panama and helped to map much of Central and South America. After being honorably discharged in 1961, he worked for the Bureau of Land Management in Colorado, Wyoming, and Oregon. In 1968, John returned to the Mullen area to help run the family ranch.
John met the love of his life, Jannet (Newman), and her 5 boys. They were wed July 24th, 1971. They added one more member to the family in December of 1973 when John Dean (J.D.) Furrow was born. John went to work for Mallory Sand and Gravel in 1973. He worked for Don Mallory for 16 years before opening a feed store in Mullen from 1989-1992. In “92” he went back to the gravel pit working for Rich Giles and G3. John retired from dredging gravel in 2009.
During his life, John was very dedicated to American Legion Post 109 in Mullen. He very much enjoyed hanging the coffin flags at the cemetery or being in the firing squad for a deceased veteran. John was especially proud of the young men that the legionnaires sent to Cornhusker Boys’ State. John was also an avid reader and spent many years serving on the County Library Board. John always loved working at the library and seeing the kids of the community come in and read.
John is preceded in Death by his parents Lyle E. and Gladys G. (VanDuesen) Furrow. His sisters Georgia (Jodi) Oien, Lila Baldwin, and Phyllis Howard.
John is survived by his brother Clifford Furrow of Alliance and his sister Pauline LeMay of Scottsbluff. John is also survived by his wife Jan (Newman) Furrow and their 6 sons, Lloyd (Bev) Maire of Grand Island, Floyd Maire of Phoenix, AZ, Robert (Robbie) Maire of Crete, Craig (Susan) Maire of Valentine, Todd Maire of Albuquerque, NM, and J.D. (Christi) Furrow of Merna. John has 16 grandkids and 12 great-grandchildren and counting.
Family Memorial Services for John will be at the Eclipse Church in southern Hooker County, Saturday, May 9th at 10:00 a.m. MT The services will be for family only and memorials can be sent to the Eclipse Church c/o Jim O’Brien or to the Mullen Alumni Association c/o Judy Ridenour. A register book can be signed Friday, May 8, 2020 from 1:00 to 6:00 p.m. MT at the Mullen Funeral Home, and/or an online guest book can be signed for words of encouragement or remembrance at www.govierbrothers.com . Mullen Funeral Home is in charge of arrangements.
