James Furkey, 101, buried at LaSalette  

Hamilton: A 101-year old veteran of the Riel Rebellion of 1885, James E. Furkey, died in Hamilton Thursday. A mail-carrier in the Canadian Militia during the storied Northwest uprising, Mr. Furkey died at the home of his niece, Mrs. Herbert Hill, 85 Sussex Street. He celebrated his 101st birthday 18 Jul. For the last four years Mr. Furkey has been bed-ridden and unable to see or hear well. Prior to that, however, he could not recall having spent a single day in bed due to illness other than for childhood ailments.
  
He was born near Cayuga on a Rainham Township farm and went west as a youth to work in the government mail service. Following the Riel Rebellion he came to the Waterford area and was a market gardener for many years. He worked as a carpenter on the canal locks at Sault Ste Marie and later was a ship's carpenter.
  
Mr. Furkey married the former Margaret Billo of Windham Township in 1897. He has been a widower since 1921. The couple had no children.
  
The centenarian lived with his niece in Hamilton for the past 14 years. Until recently, he enjoyed an occasional glass of beer and smoked his pipe daily. A life-long Liberal, he followed the last federal election with great interest.
  
On his 100th birthday last year he received a Papal citation and greetings from the Queen and Prime Minister Diefenbaker. A Roman Catholic, Mr. Furkey attended the Church of the Canadian Martyrs. Besides Mrs. Hill, he is survived by a half-sister, Mrs. Amelia Posteshil of Detroit and several nieces and nephews.
  
Funeral services were at the Church of Our Lady, LaSalette, Windham Township, Saturday at 10 a.m. Burial was in LaSalette Cemetery.