Obituary for Elizabeth L Furber
Elizabeth (Wood) Loemker Furber died in the early morning of July 21st, at her home in Southport,
Maine, attended by her sons, Bill, Tom and Win.
Liz was born in New York City on September 26th, 1930, ten minutes before her twin brother Thomas
Loemker, a feat that she was quick to remind him whenever the opportunity arose. She attended lower
schools in New York, then attended Middlebury College, from which she graduated with honors before
completing graduate studies in business at Radcliffe College.
After school Liz went to work at the Kendall Company. Skiing one weekend at Cannon Mountain she
renewed an acquaintance with a classmate from Middlebury named Edward Furber and in September of
1958 they were married. They moved to New Hampshire, where for a time, Kendall, loathe to lose her
to domesticity, flew her back and forth to New York. She dearly loved her work, but after their first child
was born she chose to stay at home and focus on her growing family. Three boys arrived within three
years, keeping Liz very busy indeed and she nurtured a closeness among her boys more often reserved
for friends than siblings.
The family moved from New Hampshire to upstate New York and back to New Hampshire, settling in
Bow, where they lived from 1970 until Liz and Ed built their retirement home in 1991 on family property
in Southport, Maine.
Liz loved to travel. From a cross-country drive in her early 20’s to trips all over the US and Europe with
Ed and her sons, she viewed travel as an educational joy. Most school vacations were filled at least in
part with visits to museums and historical sites, especially Washington, DC, New York, and Boston.
Liz’s education of her sons was manifold. She built their vocabularies by conversing generally as if she
were speaking with other adults and fostered a love of reading through frequent library visits where her
boys were encouraged to pick up any book and read the first two pages and, if they found themselves
reading the third page, to take it home. The world of books coupled with frequent travels to New York
City and Boston and the many wonderful hours spent in the theaters and museums there gave all three
sons a broad view of the world and an urge for travel and exploration while the six weeks spent in
Southport at the cabin each summer anchored her sons in the value of family, time and nature.
Liz stayed at home until her sons were old enough to fend for themselves after school and then reentered
the workforce at the New Hampshire Commission on the Status of Women, which she came to
lead along with the NH League of Women voters. She moved into the private sector, working as a
personnel consultant with Paul Woodbury and Associates in Concord, NH.
Retirement was hardly retiring for Liz who volunteered with many local nonprofits including the YMCA
and the Saint Andrews Hospital Auxiliary where she eventually was proud to serve as president.
In 2015 Ed and Liz moved into St Andrews Village in Boothbay Harbor, Maine, where they enjoyed
several happy years with new friends and old. She continued to enjoy spending time with her sons,
grandchildren, family and friends, boating, sitting on the porch and celebrating holidays at the house on
Southport where she would stay up as late as possible to enjoy the company of those she was with.
Liz is survived by her three sons and seven grandchildren Stassy, Katie, Aly, Clementine, Jillian, Miles and
Jack. In the week following her death, the family were all fortunate enough to join the children and
grandchildren of Liz’s twin brother at a family reunion on Sebago Lake; an annual tradition started by
Liz’s brother in 2009. Tom Loemker predeceased Liz by only a few months, so the reunion included
many stories about the twins, exactly the sort of memorial that Liz would have wanted.
At Liz’s request the memorial service will be kept simple, with a few friends and family swapping stories
of her life. To extend online condolences, please visit HallFuneralHomes.com. In lieu of flowers
donations may be sent to the Southport Island Association (Liz Furber Scholarship) at P.O. Box 505,
Southport, ME 04576. Mail will continue to be received at P.O. Box 186, Southport, ME 04576.
Maine, attended by her sons, Bill, Tom and Win.
Liz was born in New York City on September 26th, 1930, ten minutes before her twin brother Thomas
Loemker, a feat that she was quick to remind him whenever the opportunity arose. She attended lower
schools in New York, then attended Middlebury College, from which she graduated with honors before
completing graduate studies in business at Radcliffe College.
After school Liz went to work at the Kendall Company. Skiing one weekend at Cannon Mountain she
renewed an acquaintance with a classmate from Middlebury named Edward Furber and in September of
1958 they were married. They moved to New Hampshire, where for a time, Kendall, loathe to lose her
to domesticity, flew her back and forth to New York. She dearly loved her work, but after their first child
was born she chose to stay at home and focus on her growing family. Three boys arrived within three
years, keeping Liz very busy indeed and she nurtured a closeness among her boys more often reserved
for friends than siblings.
The family moved from New Hampshire to upstate New York and back to New Hampshire, settling in
Bow, where they lived from 1970 until Liz and Ed built their retirement home in 1991 on family property
in Southport, Maine.
Liz loved to travel. From a cross-country drive in her early 20’s to trips all over the US and Europe with
Ed and her sons, she viewed travel as an educational joy. Most school vacations were filled at least in
part with visits to museums and historical sites, especially Washington, DC, New York, and Boston.
Liz’s education of her sons was manifold. She built their vocabularies by conversing generally as if she
were speaking with other adults and fostered a love of reading through frequent library visits where her
boys were encouraged to pick up any book and read the first two pages and, if they found themselves
reading the third page, to take it home. The world of books coupled with frequent travels to New York
City and Boston and the many wonderful hours spent in the theaters and museums there gave all three
sons a broad view of the world and an urge for travel and exploration while the six weeks spent in
Southport at the cabin each summer anchored her sons in the value of family, time and nature.
Liz stayed at home until her sons were old enough to fend for themselves after school and then reentered
the workforce at the New Hampshire Commission on the Status of Women, which she came to
lead along with the NH League of Women voters. She moved into the private sector, working as a
personnel consultant with Paul Woodbury and Associates in Concord, NH.
Retirement was hardly retiring for Liz who volunteered with many local nonprofits including the YMCA
and the Saint Andrews Hospital Auxiliary where she eventually was proud to serve as president.
In 2015 Ed and Liz moved into St Andrews Village in Boothbay Harbor, Maine, where they enjoyed
several happy years with new friends and old. She continued to enjoy spending time with her sons,
grandchildren, family and friends, boating, sitting on the porch and celebrating holidays at the house on
Southport where she would stay up as late as possible to enjoy the company of those she was with.
Liz is survived by her three sons and seven grandchildren Stassy, Katie, Aly, Clementine, Jillian, Miles and
Jack. In the week following her death, the family were all fortunate enough to join the children and
grandchildren of Liz’s twin brother at a family reunion on Sebago Lake; an annual tradition started by
Liz’s brother in 2009. Tom Loemker predeceased Liz by only a few months, so the reunion included
many stories about the twins, exactly the sort of memorial that Liz would have wanted.
At Liz’s request the memorial service will be kept simple, with a few friends and family swapping stories
of her life. To extend online condolences, please visit HallFuneralHomes.com. In lieu of flowers
donations may be sent to the Southport Island Association (Liz Furber Scholarship) at P.O. Box 505,
Southport, ME 04576. Mail will continue to be received at P.O. Box 186, Southport, ME 04576.