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In memory of
David Norman Geise
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David's obituary
Dave’s adventure in life began on January 5th, 1947, in Northumberland, Pa., the son of the late Norman and Elnora (Furman) Geise. His childhood home was next door to his grandparent’s farm, the birthplace of Furmano Foods, and within a mile of numerous cousins. The combination of proximity and cast of characters, created a number of memorable adventures, entertaining stories and strong bonds. The importance of those relationships laid the foundation for one of Dave’s passions – family unity. He carried that passion throughout his more than 50 years of service at Furmano Foods, focused on keeping the family unified in their vision to perpetuate the business to future generations and leading a culture reflective of Biblical principles. As the President and CEO of Furmano’s for over 35 years, Dave led with servant leadership and a caring heart to help the members of the team. He navigated challenges with stick-to-it-iveness and optimism derived from his Faith that God would provide. He was certainly one to roll up his sleeves vs. throw up his hands. His leadership set the foundation for generations to come and facilitated the blessing of reaching our 100th Anniversary in 2021, which we celebrated with more than 350 members of the Furmano team and with almost 200 decedents of J.W. and Emma Furman this past summer at Barn Appétit on Dave’s home farm.
Dave was a humble person, never one to do something for recognition, rather a desire to help. He served on the boards of numerous organizations – Furmano Foods, Child Evangelism Fellowship (CEF), Meadowbrook Christian School, the HandUp Foundation, Kreamer Feed, Consumer Brands Association, Penn State Ag Advisory Board, the local Boy Scouts of America and several others over the years.
With all Dave was involved in, he kept God first, family second and then everything else. He was blessed to start his own family when he married his love, Joyce (Jody) Moyer in 1968. They had 3 sons – Matt, Chad & Todd – and shared 53 wonderful years of life together. His family never had to question if they were loved, as he hugged them often and shared his love through both actions and words. He never missed an important family event. He took his sons to church and to Promise Keeper conferences. He shared his passion for the mission field; participating in trips with each of his sons and his wife. In addition to the numerous domestic trips he was a part of, he served on over 20 international mission trips to Guatemala, Haiti, Panama, Nicaragua and Swaziland. He and Jody sponsored several children they met during their mission trips to Guatemala. He was instrumental in the vision to create Furman family mission trips to connect family members from different generations and branches of the family tree. Over 100 family members have served on mission trips domestically and internationally as a result of that vision.
He was a positive person, who looked for the good in people and situations. He started each day singing “This is the day that the Lord has made”. A close second on his praise list was the doxology, which starts with “Praise God from whom all blessings flow”. Those who knew him, would say that he truly did praise God for his blessings, never complaining about his cancer diagnosis.
His joys in life were going on walks with Jody around farm, allowing them time to pray, worship and share together; traveling with Jody and taking the family on annual summer vacations to explore the United States; wood working, through which he gifted each of his three sons with priceless creations that resemble both craftsmanship and love; gardening with Emma and London; flying powered parachutes with Todd and the Wing Nuts flying group; restoring his ’39 Ford pickup truck to be able to take his grandchildren in parades; landscaping around the family farm; cheering for his alma mater at Penn State football games; hunting; fishing; water & snow skiing; sampling family members’ dessert while they weren’t looking; and being outside on his tractor.
Dave was a graduate of Northumberland High School in 1964 and earned his Bachelor’s Degree in Horticulture from Penn State in 1968. His continued involvement and support of Penn State manifested in the receipt of the Alumni Fellow Award and Outstanding Alumni Award, the highest honor for the College of Agricultural Sciences.
In addition to Jody, his love of 53 years, he is survived by his son Matthew D. and Jenn Geise of Milton; his son Chad M. and Tabitha Geise and their children Emma and London of Lewisburg; and his son Todd Geise of Milton; his sister, Lois Stuck; his brother, Don and Sue Geise; his brother-in-law, Les Riser; along with many cousins, nieces, and nephews.
He was preceded in death by his parents; his father and mother-in-law, George and Ruth Moyer; his sister, Ruth Riser; his brother-in-law, Wendel Stuck.
A celebration of Dave’s life will be held on Sunday, March 27th at Christ Wesleyan Church, 363 Stamm Rd, Milton at 3:00 pm.
In lieu of flowers, Dave desired for donations to support the following Christ-Serving organizations; CEF Good News Club, 53 Blue Hill Road, Northumberland (https://gncnc.org/donate) Central Pennsylvania Youth Ministries P.O. Box 189, 117 W. 11th Avenue, Shamokin Dam, PA 17876 (https://www.centralpayouthmin…) Christ Wesleyan Church Missions Fund (https://cwclife.churchcenter.…)
Arrangements made by the John H Shaw III Funeral Home, 801 Market St, Lewisburg, PA 17837.
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Created with love by
Chad Geise (David's son).
