Ether Maroni Furnier

Rev. Ether M. Furnier; dad of rock star Alice Cooper Funeral services for the Rev. Ether M. Furnier, father of rock star Alice Cooper, were held in Phoenix on Wednesday. The Rev. Mr. Furnier, 63, died Sunday of emphysema at Good Samaritan Medical Center in Phoe-nix. He was a Baptist minister and a retired engineer for Goodyear Aerospace Corp. Cooper, who grew up in Phoenix and whose real name is Vincent Furnier, canceled two dates in Wisconsin on his worldwide concert tour to attend the memorial ser-vices. Toby Manus, Cooper's road man-ager, said the 38-year-old singer was "handling the situation very well," although the death was unexpected,Manus said the Rev. Mr. Furnier "had been hospitalized over a year ago for emphysema, but since then, he'd been in very good health.""He even attended one of Alice's shows recently," Manus said. Cooper, known for his outlandish costumes, ghoulish makeup and bizarre stage performances, has been on a marathon comeback tour this year that Manus said will wrapup in Phoenix "probably sometime in February." Besides his son, the Rev. Mr. Furnier is survived by his wife, Ella; a daughter, Nickie; two brothers; and two grandchildren. From: the Arizona Republic (a Phoenix, AZ newspaper)Thursday, December 17, 1987Page# 41