Fundraiser Set to Honor the Life of Keith Furey
Friends and community members will host a July 17 benefit in support of the Furey family.
On July 17, Rockland County community members will celebrate the 48 years of Keith Furey’s life, which was cut short on June 30 by his battle with stage four colon cancer.
“Friends of Furey,” a group of hundreds of Furey’s friends, family, and community supporters, will host a fundraiser for the family of the dedicated New City resident on Sunday, July 17th at St. Dominic's Council, Knights of Columbus Hall located on 150 W. Erie Street in Blauvelt.
The family-oriented event from 2 p.m. to 8 p.m. will include food, games, music, face painting, clowns, t-shirts, 50/50 raffles, auctions, and a Mega Raffle with cash prizes totaling $5,000. Admission for adults costs $30 and $10 for children 12 and under.
Proceeds from the event, which was originally planned to help with his medical bills, will go towards benefiting his wife and five children ages 10 to 22. Furey is survived by his wife, Deanna, his children Dominque, James, Michael, Maryanne and Frank, his grandson, Aiden, and his parents, James and Virginia Furey.
Community members and supporters unable to attend the benefit on July 17 are encouraged to make a financial contribution to the raffles, buy a mega raffle ticket for $100 or by donate an item for auction.
Donations can be mailed to:
Friends of Furey, PO Box 69, New City, NY 10956-0696
Auction items can be mailed to:
Mike Dari, 22 Carteret Drive, Pomona, NY 10970
“Keith was a tremendous leader, influenced so many, and donated his own time to the community,” said Robert Carlucci, who coached Furey as a high school swimmer and remained his life-long friend. “We are looking to the community to show their gratefulness to a person who has given so much.”
Furey is described as a loving friend, coach, volunteer and a friend to all.
He gave the word “volunteer” a new meaning with his longtime dedication and devotion to the Rockland community, particularly its youth. Furey joined the Cub Scouts in 1972, went on to achieve the rank of Eagle Scout and Scoutmaster and remained active in Scouting.
Additionally, he coached Clarkstown’s Swimming and Diving Team and helped make it into one of the State's top programs. He also worked with the Condor Swim Club of Rockland to place the team in the top 100 in the nation.
A lifelong resident of Rockland, Furey attended Clarkstown High School South and was the captain of the school’s lacrosse team and swim team. He graduated from Manhattan College in 1985 and began his career as a civil engineer. Furey was a member of St. Augustine Parish of New City.
He was diagnosed with colon cancer in 2009, overcame it, and was told that the cancer had returned to his liver in 2010. Throughout that time, Furey maintained his commitment to Rockland and to the community.
A Facebook page has been created in Keith Furey's memory: http://www.facebook.com/#!/event.php?eid=165783603481291
kristin walker bidwell
8:53 pm on Friday, July 8, 2011
Coach Keith was a role model and a mentor to our son, Ian, who he coached from the time he qualified at 9 until this past spring. When Ian's coaches could not stay for Zone Quals -- Keith did; when Ian almost quit the sport due to an injury and his senior/junior team split -- Keith was there for him; when Ian came back after injury and Keith was weak from chemo -- he stayed at Ian's first meet back after injury (while he was swimming mile no less) and saw him finish.........We will miss him terribly, but know he had such a positive impact and legacy in his community and on our metro swim community. We will miss you Keith! Fondly -- The Bidwell Family