FURLONG, Keith Kermit
Age 80, of Arcanum, went to be with the Lord on Sunday, July 4, 2021.
He was born in Arcanum, Ohio January 8th, 1941 and was the 5th child of Emerson and Joy Furlong. He married his childhood sweetheart, Carolyn Sue Patterson in May of 1962, and they moved to Columbus, Ohio. Upon completing his education at The Ohio State University in 1964, he pursued a career with Nationwide Insurance, where he made inroads in the field of Mutual Funds and Wealth Management during the next 2 decades. While in Columbus, Keith and Carolyn started their family and Keith found the love of running, resulting in the completion of 17 marathons, including the Boston. Keith and Carolyn’s journey took them to Connecticut Bank and Trust in Hartford, Connecticut (1982 - 1987), Pennsylvania (1987-1988) and Naperville, Illinois (1988-1998) where Keith finished his career as Vice President with Morgan Stanley Investments.
Keith and Carolyn retired back to their Arcanum family farm of 150 years in 1997, and have enjoyed being active members of the community. Keith lived a purpose driven life as a Christian, loving husband, father, and grandfather. He was an active advocate for the Arcanum community, spending time promoting school building/athletic advances. He was one of the founding members of the Arcanum Wayne Historical Society. Along with aching knees from his running days, Keith battled with sequelae of Wegener’s Granulomatosis (1995), and Parkinsons (2010). He tackled both disease processes by becoming involved in educational programs and support groups.
Keith is survived by his wife of 59 years, Carolyn Patterson Furlong; siblings, Dean and Karen Furlong (Montana), Deo and Pam Furlong (Arcanum), Phyllis Petifor and Shirley Riffle (Goshen, Indiana); brother-in-law: Warren Leslie (Florida); children, Kelly and Jeff Baron (Union City, IN), Kurt and Kimberly Furlong (Treasure Island, FL), and Karen and Michael Young (Arcanum). Keith (and Carolyn) was blessed to have spent several years “fathering” his deceased sister’s son, Ramo Lupi (Hollysprings, NC). He is also survived by his grandchildren, Zachary Furlong (Arcanum), Kyleigh Furlong (Bonita Springs, Florida), Robert Hutchinson (Union City, OH), Charles Baron (Muncie, IN), Emma Baron (Columbus, OH) and Stephen Young (Jacksonville,Florida); he was blessed to have been a “grandfather” to Joshua Smith (Versailles, OH); numerous nieces, nephews, and other relatives and friends.
Keith was preceded in death by younger siblings: Marilyn Leslie, Carolyn Lupi, Bob Furlong, and Elaine Furlong.
A celebration of Keith’s life will be held at the Castine Church, Arcanum ,OH, Thursday, July 15th at 6pm. The family will be ready to receive guests from 5:30-6pm, leading into the services.
Keith lived life including John 1:16 in all his prayers:
From the fullness of His Grace, we have all received one blessing after another.
In lieu of flowers, donations can be made to the :
Castine Church, 624 State Route 127, Arcanum Ohio 45304
Arcanum Wayne Trail 123 West George St. Arcanum, Ohio 45304
Arrangements made in care by Kreitzer Funeral Home, 204 N. Main St., Arcanum, OH 45304. Condolences can be made online by going to www.kreitzerfuneralhome.com.