Camas, WA, – November 13, 2017 It is with great sadness that Furuno USA, Inc. announced the passing of industry veteran and long-time Furuno employee, Butch Weghorst, on November 9th. He is survived by his three sons Anthony, John and Matthew Weghorst.
Butch was Furuno USA’s Gulf of Mexico Regional Manager from 1984 to 2016, working closely with dealers who he not only called customers but his friends. Butch started his marine electronics career in the 1960’s as a US Navy Radioman – he proudly wore his Radioman’s ring in memory of that service. After the Navy, Butch worked in the Houston, TX area, with stints at Gulf Radiotelephone, Krupp-Atlas and other notable companies of the time. Butch’s Furuno career started when he was a rep for Promar in the 1970’s. He worked as a Konel and then Furuno rep with Promar in the Gulf and Rivers region, after Furuno USA was founded in 1978. In 1984, Furuno USA hired Butch as a Regional Manager for the Gulf Region.
Butch’s history with Furuno USA is legendary – his driving log alone details hundreds of thousands of miles spent in the company “Crown Vic,” a car that was prized by a generation of regional managers. He spent many days with Furuno product engineers on the inland rivers, working to improve short-range target performance on multiple generations of Furuno radars. The Furuno Japanese staff affectionately called him “Butchie-san” or referred to him as “Clint Eastwood”. Butch Weghorst represented Furuno for 32 years and for that entire time was a consummate professional and a model for how to sell and support a product line.
Everyone at Furuno has wonderful memories of Butch and they will all greatly miss his friendship, professionalism and sense of humor.
