August 22, 1944 – October 6, 2025
A dedicated resident of Cloverdale, Alan Furber was a beloved father, grandfather, and a man who believed things simply “had to be done”, even if it meant climbing to the highest rung on an orchard ladder to clean a gutter or spending hours clearing brush.
For fifteen years, he taught woodshop at Brookhaven Junior High in Sebastopol, introducing countless students to the smell of sawdust and the pride of crafting a pig-shaped cutting board. His creativity spanned beyond the classroom; he was a self-taught lathe turner, a precise painter, who never used blue tape, and a marching band trombone player who kept his musty, worn instrument case handy.
His dedication to Cloverdale was deep-rooted. His great grandparents moved here in 1879. He and his brother Craig and parents Helen and Alan Sr developed family land for both housing and the Furber Ranch Plaza shopping center, and he consistently supported the town’s entrepreneurs, purposefully buying from local businesses. He also served on the board of the History Center, teaching visitors about the community’s past.
Alan was an avid outdoorsman, a fixture on local trails, hiking 3-4 miles several times a week. It was a routine everyone in town seemed to know. He loved fishing, hunting, and waterskiing. He made sure his kids and grandkids learned the thrill of popping out of the water, or holding on to the inner tube handles with all their might. He also shared his passion for the ocean, diving for abalone and treating the family to delicious appetizers.
He was the guy who always showed up—for soccer games, speech tournaments, and every performance or show his grandchildren, Hazel, Avy, and Zac, performed in. He taught his family everything from how to fix a clogged sink to how to drive a stick shift. He loved to dance, always with a big smile on his face, a joy that was reflected on his partner’s. A master of the grill, he could barbeque anything and his signature potluck item was tr-tip served on toothpicks, making him instantly popular. When he truly loved a meal, his highest praise was the simple and understated “pretty fair”.
His legacy is carried on by his beloved daughters Amy and Andrea and their husbands Jim and Casey and his cherished grandchildren, Zac, Avy, and Hazel. He loved us, and we loved him, and he will be fiercely missed by his family, friends, and the Cloverdale community he helped build.
We will celebrate his life on December 13, 2025, at The Citrus Fair Auditorium at 11:00am. Please join us for memories, food and fellowship. He’d want it that way.
In lieu of flowers, support local Cloverdale businesses, or donate to the Cloverdale History Center 215 N Cloverdale Blvd, or Shriners Children’s Northern California, Office of Philanthropy, 2425 Stockton Blvd. Sacramento, CA 95817
