Bernard Thomas Furlong
March 14th 1957 - May 23rd 2022
Bernie Furlong was born in Melrose, Massachusetts to Bernard Joseph and Marylou Furlong. He passed away suddenly from a heart attack at his home in Ventura, California.
At 19, Bernie enlisted in the United States Army with only the request that he be close to an ocean so he could continue his new found hobby of SCUBA diving. After basic training, he was stationed at Fort Ord in Monterey, CA as a Military Police officer. While there he made lifelong friends, fell in love with California and learned valuable investigative skills that he would use for the rest of his career.
Upon leaving the Army with honorable discharge, Bernie was faced with making the decision if he was going to stay in the sun or return to the snow. In 1983, He joined the Ventura County Sheriff’s Department and shortly after met the love of his life Mandy after elbowing his buddy saying, "Dibs on the blonde". The English nurse and Boston boy fell in love and had five children together; Milo, Abigail, Patrick, Kate, and Emily. He was also Papa to his only grandchild Benjamin. His family meant everything to him.
Bernie served the County of Ventura for 25 years retiring as a Senior Deputy Sheriff.
He was always the good guy, the rule follower, and one to set the example. His personal credo was, “do the right thing and set your standards high.”
Bernie had a big heart and was always lending a helping hand to those in need.
Some of his family's fondest memories of him involve helping others even if it meant losing his favorite pair of sunglasses or cutting into his time with them or making them late for some event. Bernie was always setting an example for his family of what it meant to be a good person, regardless of who was watching.
Bernie had a love for the outdoors starting from childhood -including picking berries in Massachusetts, fishing with his friends, and ice skating on the pond by his grandmother’s house. He Loved camping and spending time with the Boy Scouts guiding his son to become an Eagle scout.
He loved to talk to everyone, especially if you were wearing some New England garb.
He will be dearly missed.
Family and friends are invited to funeral services to be held on Friday June 3, 2022 at 11:30am in the BOYKO & REARDON TELEGRAPH ROAD MORTUARY & CREMATION, 15 Teloma Drive Ventura, a visiting hour will precede the funeral services from 10:30am until 11:30am. Interment with Ventura County Sheriff’s Department Honors will then immediately follow as he will be laid to rest in Pierce Brother’s Santa Paula Cemetery, Santa Paula.
To help continue his legacy, in lieu of flowers we invite you to make a donation in his memory to The Ventura Regional Fire Safe Council or to your favorite charity.