Jim graduated as a civil engineer from Oregon State University in 1959. He began his career in waterfront construction working for Chadwick & Buchannan out of Long Beach, California., and his first project was working on the Bonneville Dam on the Columbia River. Keynote projects which Jim managed for Chadwick & Buchannan included constructing Sea World in 1963, and the 24th Street Marine Terminal in National City, California.
In 1967, Jim left Chadwick & Buchannan and started Furby Construction Company, Inc. in San Diego, performing several projects in Southern California until 1970 when he merged with Bob Zinser and created Zinser-Furby Inc. Jim led Zinser-Furby, Inc. in constructing many notable projects here in San Diego, including constructing most all of National Steel and Shipbuilding Company shipyard, Pier 2 Naval Base San Diego, UCSD Nimitz Pier, and the Tuna Boat Pier and Fishing Pier at Seaport Village. Jim was also instrumental in starting up Marathon Construction Corporation in 1981, when Zinser-Furby Inc dissolved.
Jim had a passion for business and his vision wasn't just for the construction side, but businesses that could vertically integrate their business operations. In 1988, he created B&B Heavy Equipment, Southwest Tractor Parts, and Lakeside Land Company to work mutually with their construction operations, as well as service the Southern California region. B&B Heavy Equipment owned and rented over 300 pieces of equipment, and Lakeside Land Company purchased 132 acres of property in Lakeside where its currently developing an industrial park, which will include over 1.2 million square feet of light industrial and manufacturing buildings. Another passion of Jim's was his farm in Forest Hills, Oregon where he owned and farmed over 800 acres of farmland, including a vineyard that furnishes Pinot Noir grapes to King Estates Winery. Upon his death, his portfolio of companies includes seven active companies, which manage their business throughout the west coast region.
Jim was an active AGC San Diego member from the early 1970's, and sat on the board of directors in the 1980's and 1990's. He also played a big role in AGC SD's new facility in Lakeside, selling the property, next door to Marathon Construction, to bring the association to the East County, the heartland of San Diego's construction industry.
Jim was married to his wife Joy for over 50 years, and just celebrated their 50th anniversary in December 2020. They enjoyed travel and traveled to all corners of the world. Jim's favorite line was that "Joy is the Love of my Life" and "Everything was for sale except for my wife." Jim is survived by his wife Joy, his son Mike Furby and daughter-in-law Julie Furby, his daughter Nicole Badamo and son-in-law Tony Greenwell, and his grandchildren Sean, Camille, and Blake Furby, and Brandon, Shane, and Madison Mitchel.
A Celebration of Life is planned for early September.
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