Conan Paul Furber Obituary (1936

DAMARISCOTTA - Conan Paul Furber, 80, beloved husband, father, mentor and friend, passed away Nov. 9, 2016, at home, surrounded by his family. Conan was born Nov. 3, 1936, in Lewiston, the son of Alice Berry Furber and Robert Crowell Furber, and brother of Sally Furber (Nelson). He grew up in Winthrop, and spoke often of dances, times at the lake, working with Del Bissonette at his orchards and chicken farm, making donuts at the bakery, and American Graffiti-like fun with friends. He graduated from Winthrop High School in 1955, where he played football and basketball. Conan lettered all four years, and was named to the Maine All Star Team in football. Conan attended University of Maine for a year, before joining the Army in 1956. He was proud to serve with both the Army and National Guard, and to work with Nike Ajax Guided Missiles. Returning to UMO in 1958, he received his B.S.C.E. in 1962, and was president of the American Society of Civil Engineers, Student Chapter. Conan worked with the Maine state highways, before returning to the University of Maine graduate school. He received his M.S.C.E. in 1965, and was a professor at Bucknell before he was asked to establish a two-year technical program and teach engineering at UMO in 1966. In 1968, he moved to Arizona as a doctoral student, and received his Ph.D. from the University of Arizona in 1973. He was an assistant professor at University of Delaware until 1976, when he moved to Potomac, Maryland, to work with the Association of American Railroads. While at the AAR, he headed the alternative fuels program, set national standards for noise regulation, headed the environmental studies program, and lead several studies setting the standards for safe transportation of nuclear waste. He was the author of hundreds of publications, including invited papers for the IAEA, presented in Davos, Switzerland; and for NATO, presented in Italy. Conan was listed in the Who's Who of Railroad Engineering. In 1990, Conan returned to Maine to establish CMF and Associates and the Kingsbury Ridge Corporation, before retiring in 1998 to fulfill his dream of building a log cabin in Kingsbury. He grew up hunting, fishing, and hiking in Kingsbury with his family and friends -- it was his favorite place throughout his life. After moving to Kingsbury, he served for 12 years in elected and appointed positions including first assessor, second assessor, moderator, constable, and road commissioner. He loved riding ATVs, and helped develop trail systems throughout the area. He held several positions with the Moose Alley ATV Club, who nominated him for Maine Landowner of the Year. He received the award from the Maine DIFW in 2008. Conan loved exploring logging roads, playing cribbage and poker, and walking beaches in Sanibel, Rehoboth, Popham, and especially Reid State Park. He enjoyed visiting Pemaquid Point, and sharing his family connection to the Angel Gabriel. One of his favorite activities was eating lobster with extra butter at Five Islands. Conan is survived by his wife of 55 years, Marthalie Peddle Furber; two daughters, Melanie Furber and Tamara Furber Wederbrand; and his grandson, Stephen Robert Furber Bachinski. We will think of him every day as a giving, thoughtful, kind, brilliant man. His memorial service will be held Sunday, Nov. 20, at 1 p.m. at Roberts Funeral Home, 62 Bowdoin St., Winthrop. Everyone is invited to stay and share memories after the service. Memories, condolences, and photos may be shared with the family at: www.khrfuneralhomes.com/obituaries. In lieu of flowers, memorial contributions may be made to the Kingsbury Plantation July 4th Celebration c/o Kingsbury Plantation Town Clerk P.O. Box 155 Abbot, ME 04406