Douglas B. Fuhr

Douglas Fuhr was a kind, considerate man who brought happiness into the lives of all who knew him. A dedicated father, loving husband and doting grandfather, he was a true family man who cherished all the time he spent with his loved ones. In their company, you could always find a familiar smile on his face. In the year 1933, America found itself in trouble as the Great Depression pushed toward new heights and one out of every four individuals was unemployed. It was a hard and challenging time, but in Washington, Pennsylvania, Delmar Fuhr and his wife, Mary (Blayney), maintained positive spirits by focusing on a special blessing in their lives. On December 23, 1933, they received an early Christmas present with the birth of their son, Douglas. He was welcomed into the family by his older brother, Norman, who was happy to have a new playmate. To provide for their family, Delmar owned and operated a paint and wallpaper store, while Mary taught in the towns one-room schoolhouse. When Doug was about a year old, the family moved to Claysville, a small borough inside Washington County. In 1944, the family moved again to Piqua, Ohio, where many of Marys relatives lived. Here, Doug and his brother, Norman, enjoyed having lots of cousins to run around with and Doug became very close with his cousin, Dick. Like many boys, Dougs first job was a newspaper route, and he worked many summers at Uncle Bunnies propeller factory. During the school year, however, he was active on both the Piqua High basketball and football teams. Doug graduated from Piqua High School in 1951, and went on to attend Ohio State University. Besides his studies, he also worked in the student bookstore to help pay for his college tuition, and was active with the R.O.T.C. It wasnt long before Doug was joined at OSU by his brother and cousin, Dick, and they enjoyed many football games, parties and good times together. Shortly after Doug graduated from OSU in 1955, he enlisted in the U.S. Army and served as a 2nd Lieutenant and Tank Commander at Fort Polk in Louisiana. Unfortunately, Doug lost partial hearing due to the close encounters with the tanks. After his honorable discharge, Doug went to live with his cousin, Dick, in Columbus, Ohio. He soon found work at GMAC, repossessing cars, which afforded him many unbelievable stories. In 1959, Doug moved to Grand Rapids, along with his job, but was then transferred in 1962 to the Muskegon GMAC. In the spring of March 1966, a wonderful thing happened to Doug he met the love of his life, Carole Buikema, who also worked at GMAC. Although it was love at first sight for the two, they unfortunately knew that company rules were they could not date. But they couldnt fight fate and began secretly dating. Eventually, Doug and Carole became the first couple permitted to marry and still work at GMAC. They were happily married on June 17, 1967, at the First Congregational Church in Muskegon, and honeymooned at Niagara Falls. Carole brought more than just her love into Dougs life; she had three children of her own, and he completely welcomed them in the family and loved them as his own. The family of five soon settled into their first home together at 2428 Glenside Blvd. in Muskegon. In 1972, Doug and Carole were overjoyed to add to their family with the birth of their daughter, Heidi. Time together as a family was always important to Doug and Carole, and they took many opportunities to take fun-filled family vacations to places like Disney World and Cedar Point. In 1975, the couple had a new home built for them at 1075 Ivanhoe in Laketon Township in Muskegon, where they raised their children among a close-knit neighborhood. As time went on, Doug and Caroles children began having families of their own, and the couple delighted in their role as grandparents with the arrival of their first grandchild, Michael, in 1981. Their grandchildren would eventually grow to include seven more and one great granddaughter, all of whom they loved dearly. In 1982, Doug and Carole took a very important spiritual step in their lives when they converted to Catholicism and became members of Prince of Peace Catholic Church. The couple moved three years later to Grand Rapids, where they had a new home built. Their daughter Heidi completed her schooling in Grand Rapids and graduated from Grand Rapids Catholic Central in 1990. After 33 years with GMAC, Doug retired in 1992, and he and Carole moved to Traverse City in 1995. When Carole retired from her job in 1997, the couple packed up and moved one last time to Grand Haven. Doug and Carole both loved to travel and being retired gave them the opportunity to do so more extensively. Over the next several years, their adventures took them to Mexico, Florida, Acapulco, Cancun, out west and to Florida several times for spring break with their kids and grandkids. But their excursions were not limited to just the states; the couple also traveled abroad to Denmark, France, Germany, Austria, Italy, England and Ireland. In April of 2007, Doug and Carole were able to travel one last time to Europe together to celebrate their 40th anniversary. Doug was such a perfectionist when it came to making their travel arrangements, and he took care of everything, right down to the smallest detail. When not a world traveler, Doug enjoyed keeping busy with several of his hobbies. He liked to refinish wood furniture, peruse for antiques at estate sales, and play those one-armed bandits at the casinos. He attended his grandkids sporting activities and was always their number one fan. Doug has always had a soft spot of pets too, and over the years they had several dogs and cats numbered to the family. But that was Doug a true family man. His happiest moments always involved the time he spent with his precious loved ones. In 2001, Carole was diagnosed with cancer, and Doug was her constant loving support and caregiver. Then, in 2005, Doug was diagnosed with pancreatic cancer, and his health gradually declined over the years. Sadly, he died on Wednesday, September 19, 2007, after a courageous two year battle with cancer. He will be deeply missed and frequently remembered. Doug is survived by his wife, Carole; 1 son, Brad Buikema of Muskegon; 3 daughters: Angela (Mark) Hunter of Muskegon. Paula (Hector Garcia) Herline of Muskegon & Heidi (Scott) Argue of Traverse City, MI; 7 grandchildren: Michael, Caleb, Brandy, Jackie, Jeromie, Sam 1 great granddaughter, Briannah; 1 brother, Norman (Vicki) Fuhr of Georgia; mother-in-law, Irene Christensen of Muskegon; several nieces & nephews & a special friend, Tim (Melodie) Thielbar of Muskegon. He was preceded in death by his parents and a grandson, Patrick Buikema, in 1995. Services for Douglas will be held on Monday, September 24, at 2:00 p.m. at Prince of Peace Catholic Church with Fr. William Langlois officiating. Interment at Laketon Township Cemetery with military rights under the Auspices of the Muskegon County Council. Friends and relatives may visit with Dougs family on Sunday, September 23, from 2-5 p.m. at the Clock Life Story Funeral Home - Muskegon. Memorial contributions may be made to the Harbor Humane Society or Poppen House. Please visit Dougs memory page at www.lifestorynet.com where you may sign his online guest book or share a memory with his family.