Tornado victim Jack Furrie warned his family about the storm before he died

Every morning after his wife died, Jack Furriepicked up the phone to tell two of his closest relatives he was doing just fine.

It wasn't odd thenthat Furrie, 77, would call duringa stormy Friday night in Alonsa, Man., said his brother-in-law, Earl Eyolfson.

But there was a hint of concern in Furrie's voiceas he warned of a menacingtornado on its way.

It would be the last phone call Eyolfsonwould receive from Furrie.

"I should have said, 'Come over to the house here,' " Eyolfsonsaid.

Furrie, a retired schoolteacher and farmer, died when atornado at recorded speeds of up to 310 km/h struck his homeabout 165 kilometres northwest of Winnipegon the night of Aug.3.

Just before he was killed, Furrie'sfamily members say, he thought to call at least twofamily members from his landline and warn them of the storm's wrath

Eyolfson said a daily call from Furriewas their"policy" since his wife died eight years ago.

"He never missed a day,"Eyolfson said.

"It's kind of terrible to think that you were the last one, or one of the lastones, to speak to him," he said. "It runs through your mind like every hour, every twominuteswhy couldn't I talk to him today? It's not a good feeling."

He saidFurrie expressed no concern for his own safety in theirfinal phone call. If he was worried, it was for them.

Looking back, Eyolfson has regrets.

If you were in trouble and needed help, Jack was there.- Earl Eyolfson

He should have asked Furriewhetherhe was safe, he said, and he should have heeded his warning and the same onefrom his granddaughter immediately. Instead, they hurried to the basement only after noticing the rain and hail.

Slowed by age, the couple in their 70s didn't make it downstairs before the twister tore the roof off their home.

They escaped the disaster and are now in Portage la Prairie, Man., with family.

Watch as Earl Eyolfsonand wife Janet recount their narrow escape:

A table and helpful neighbours saved Earl Eyolfson's wife Janet

6 years ago

Duration 1:36

A table and helpful neighbours saved Earl Eyolfson's wife Janet

"If hindsight was foresight, we would have gone long before we'd seen it raining," he said.

Ellen Oleschak, 85, was not remotely surprised that Furrie called her.

"If I went outside to dochores or feed the birds or something, he'd have to know when I got back in the house," she said.

They had both lost their partnersin 2010. They looked out for one another, she says.

Furrie'scall arrivedaround8:40 p.m.aftertheelectricity went out. The home'slandline waspicked up by her daughter, SallyOleschak.

Over the phone, it seemed Furrie was more concerned for her mother than himself, she said.

"It makes me very emotional, knowing that I very likely could have been the last person he spoke to," Oleschak said on the phone from Thompson, where she lives. "It makes me question if there was something I could have said to him that may have got him into a protected area."

The tornado's path was at least two kilometres from where they were staying, she said.

It is not known how Furrie knewa tornado was coming. His grandson, Kelly Brown, says Furriewould not havereceived the emergency cellphone notificationbecause he lost service after Bell MTSupgraded its cell towers inJune.

It makes me very emotional, knowing that I very likely could have been the last person he spoke to.- SallyOleschak

Environment Canada began receiving reports of the tornado shortly before 9 p.m. The twister's path was as wide as800 metresand lasted for at least 20 minutes, the weather agency reported.

Eyolfsonsaidit speaks to Furrie'scharacter that one of his final acts was to warn the people he cared about.

"If you were in trouble and needed help, Jack was there."