Tuohy's Francis Chair celebrates a life well lived

Tuohy's Francis Chair celebrates a life well lived June 15, 2026 | 2:27 pm CDT

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Woodworking Industry News

Event Coverage

Tuohy's Francis Chair celebrates a life well lived

By

Larry Adams

June 15, 2026 | 2:27 pm CDT

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The Francis wood chair by Tuohy Furniture.

The Francis wood chair by Tuohy Furniture made its debut at NeoCon 2026. Celebrated for its master craftsmanship, the hand-sculpted design features elegant, simple lines and an inset seat pad. Francis is a new American Classic. A celebration of wood craftsmanship, each part was hand-sculpted and carefully fitted together for proportionality and comfort.  By utilizing state-of-the-art technology, components were three-dimensionally scanned and engineered to heirloom quality and commercial durability.

Named for the late CEO, Francis Michael Tuohy, this functional, artistic expression is a culmination of Tuohy’s over 70 years of commitment to unparalleled craft in American furniture, intersecting with designer Mark Goetz’s nearly four decades of seating design expertise. Francis is exceptionally relevant for contemporary applications and destined to resonate for future generations.

Tuohy was born March 27, 1936, in Rochester, Minnesota, the third of 15 children born to Joseph and Teresa (Snyder) Tuohy. He died Jan. 12, 2025, from prostate cancer.

He briefly attended Loras College in Dubuque, Iowa, before being called home by family in 1955 to run Tuohy Church Furniture. In 1972, he purchased the company from his father and then went from manufacturing furniture for churches to producing high-end office furniture featured in showrooms around the country. His commitment to expanding his company to national prominence brought him to take flight school lessons where he became a pilot to make regional sales calls more easily.

Among his many business affiliations and leadership roles include president of the Business and Institutional Furniture Manufacturer Association (BIFMA); Minnesota Technology board member; Minnesota Sustainable Development Initiative; Federal Reserve Small Business Advisory Council: Southeastern Minnesota Initiative Fund; President and board member of the Community and Economic Development Association (CEDA); Fillmore County Planning and Zoning; and board of the F & M Community Bank.

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About the author

Larry Adams

| Editor

Larry Adams is a Chicago-based writer and editor who writes about how things get done. A former wire service and community newspaper reporter, Larry is an award-winning writer with more than three decades of experience. In addition to writing about woodworking, he has covered science, metrology, metalworking, industrial design, quality control, imaging, Swiss and micromanufacturing . He was previously a Tabbie Award winner for his coverage of nano-based coatings technology for the automotive industry. Larry volunteers for the historic preservation group, the Kalo Foundation/Ianelli Studios, and the science-based group, Chicago Council on Science and Technology (C2ST).

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