Daniel "Dan" Lee Furlong

In Loving Memory of Daniel "Dan" Lee Furlong February 21, 1965- March 28, 2025 If you knew Dan Furlong, then you knew this: he not only remembered the good ol’ days—he always tried to relive them, and he made sure we did too whether we felt like it or not. Whether it was classic rock blasting from the speakers in his backyard, or as memory retold for the fiftieth time, Dan was our mutual time traveler—he was our host to the decades when music was happier, friendships were tighter, and life was simpler. Born in San Antonio on February 21, 1965, and raised in Richardson, Texas, Dan graduated from Berkner High School in 1983, but he didn’t find his future at school. As it turns out, his future was found in a Texas blonde wandering at the Gemini Drive-In in Dallas on a Monday night in May of 1981. That’s when 16-year-old Dan met a North Garland girl named Dixie Landress. He later joked that he was “slumming it with a North Garland High School girl,” but as it turned out, she’d be his everything, his soulmate, best friend, and—on their shared birthday in 2015—his wife. Dan and Dixie were born on the same day, five hours apart, and spent their lives celebrating each other with music, laughter, and long conversations about everything and nothing. What Dixie loved most was his humor, his integrity, and just how much he loved and served people. Dan was a man who believed food was love, and he fed everyone! Friends, neighbors, strangers—no one left hungry if Dan had anything to say about it. He cooked for charity events, backyard parties, and just because it was Tuesday. He was always helping someone—always showing up. If something broke, Dan could fix it. If you were hurting, Dan would try to lift you. And if Dan loved you, he loved you forever. But that didn’t mean Dan didn’t make his share of opponents—even those he’d known for years. That’s because Dan was opinionated, stubborn, and fearless to tell you what he thought. For some, he irritated them. For those who understood him, Dan’s strong will would be met with a smile, a chuckle, and the thought, “Freakin’ Furlong, man!” He worked hard, lived simply, and never stopped believing that the best moments in life happen when people come together. A bar. A concert. A backyard. That was Dan’s version of heaven on earth. And maybe it still can be, if we keep showing up for each other the way he always did. Dan was preceded in death by his brothers Michael and Patrick. He is survived by his loving parents, Harry and Barbara Furlong of Richardson, TX, and by his wife and greatest companion, Dixie, who will forever carry the sound of his laughter and the weight of his absence in her heart. Dan’s body may have finally let go, after years of chronic pain and struggle, but his spirit hasn’t gone anywhere. It’s in every old song that takes you back, every story retold around the barbecue and cooler, and every gathering where someone says, “Remember that time...?” He wanted all of us to never stop being with each other. So don’t. That’s how we keep Dan with us. That’s how we stay young. That’s how we make it 1984 again—if only for a little while. Rest easy, Dan. We’ll see you in the backyard.

Tributes

Daniel "Dan" Lee Furlong

February 21, 1965 - March 28, 2025