Robert Michael Furek

Robert Michael Furek passed away peacefully on October 13, 2022 at the age of 79, just shy of his 80th birthday. He was born on October 29, 1942 in Jersey City, New Jersey. If you ask anyone who knew him, the first thing they would say is “he is such a GOOD man”.

Robert (“Bobby” or “Bob” to the many that loved him) grew up in Cliffside Park, NJ with his devoted mother and father, Betty and Michael Furek, and earned a baseball scholarship to Colby College in Waterville, ME. Soon after graduating he joined the Marines and then went on to pay his way through Columbia Business School.

Bob began his career in marketing in the wine and spirits business in Napa Valley, CA and quickly rose the ranks to CEO of Heublein, Inc. He enjoyed serving on various Boards including Mass Mutual, CB&T, Dexter Corporation, Grand Met, Kingswood-Oxford School and Colby College, to name a few.

Because he retired so early, he saw the opportunity to spend his time giving back to the community. Education was very important to him, so when the Governor of CT asked him to volunteer as Chair of the Board of Trustees of the troubled Hartford Public school system, he readily agreed and devoted the next three and a half years working to change the lives of the children in that area. To continue his goal of helping children, he then focused on an organization that was just getting started called Grace Place for Children and Family Services in Golden Gate, FL. Their goal is to help educate children and their families to give them a leg up and get out of poverty. During the time that he was on the Board, Grace Place grew from a couple of rooms in the local church, to a multi-building campus serving the families in that community.

Above all, his passion and love was for his family – his loving wife of 48 years, Susan; his daughter, Nicki Furek Mullin, and son-in-law, Chris; and son, Tyler, and daughter-in-law, Nicole, along with his seven grandchildren, Willow, Sloane, Piper, Rease, Sage, Finn and Eloise who loved their “Boppy” with all their heart.

Bob always felt like he was the lucky one, for all the good blessings he enjoyed, but the truth is we were all the lucky ones for having him in our lives. He was a mentor to many and loved by all.

We will celebrate his life at the United Church of Marco Island located at 320 North Barfield Dr. on Sunday, November 20, 2022 at 12:00 PM. A luncheon will immediately follow the service at: The Island Country Club located at 500 Nassau Court, Marco Island, FL 34145.

In lieu of flowers, he would have much preferred people to be remembered with any donations to be sent to Grace Place in his memory.

https://graceplacenaples.org/makeagift/