Herman Laverne Furniss of Rena Lara, born October 6, 1931 in Belen to Alvy George Furniss and Gertrude Mary Alice Ferguson, died Aug. 7, 2019 at the age of 87. He is preceded in death by his wife Imogene Roark Furniss; they were married August 10, 1950. He is preceded in death by grandson Justin Furniss and great grandson Cody Furniss.
He is survived by four sons; Larry (Wanda) Furniss of Rolla, Mo., Mitchell Furniss of Rena Lara, Jim (Yvonne) Furniss of Lonoke, Ark., David (Sharon) Furniss of Piedmont, S.C. and one daughter, Brenda (Michael) Carter of Rena Lara; 11 grandchildren; 11 great grandchildren; and 4 great great grandchildren. He is also survived by two brothers; Delma Furniss of Rena Lara and W.G. Furniss of Greenville and several nieces and nephews.
He was a member of Rena Lara Baptist Church of Rena Lara in which he was Song Director, Sunday School teacher, deacon; bus driver. He was active in his church and community and was loved by many. He held the office of Coahoma County Election Commissioner for 49½ years and was Chairman at the time of resignation in 2018. He was owner of Furniss Sewing and retired at age 70 to only “repair machines” & “go fishing”. He loved fishing with his family and could stay all day. He loved his garden and we loved his fresh garden peas & tomatoes for Sunday lunch. We were blessed to have a Christian home with a mother & father that loved Jesus. There are many things we could tell about our father but the most important is that he loved us and we loved him. As my brother Larry always said “love you dad.” He will be missed.
Visitation is 1 to 2 p.m. Saturday, August 10, 2019 at Rena Lara Baptist Church in Rena Lara with the service at 2 p.m. Burial will be at Memorial Gardens.
Arrangements are being handled by Meredith Nowell Funeral Home.
