Individual Details
Carl Augustus FURR
(19 Nov 1895 - 16 Jul 1979)
CONCORD- Third graders at Carl A. Furr Elementary School were treated to a history lesson with a special guest. Dr. Carl A. Furr, Jr., son of the former superintendent that the elementary school is named for, recently visited the school to share some anecdotes about his father with students. Furr Jr. and his wife, Sharon, showed students pictures of the Furr family through the years and talked about how life was different for students in the past. Sharon began by sharing things that Carl A. Furr, Sr. didn’t have when he was the superintendent. Students gasped as she told them that there was no Internet, smart boards, YouTube, computers or fidget spinners. “Most of the students did not have a TV and there were no cafeterias in his schools,” Sharon said to the shocked students. “Everybody walked to school. All of your neighbors went to the same school. You went home for lunch and then you came back.” Carl A. Furr, Sr. was the superintendent of Cabarrus County Schools, which Furr, Jr. said was about three times larger than the other district, Concord City Schools, which existed at the time. “We lived in the City of Concord and we went to Concord City Schools. I graduated from Concord High School,” Furr Jr. said. “We would kid him and say he wouldn’t let us go (to Cabarrus County Schools) because he was afraid we would reflect badly on him.” While Furr Jr. said he was a great dad, he also told students that Carl A. Furr, Sr. was very much a disciplinarian. Sharon added that her father-in-law only had two rules in his schools when he was a principal. “The girls must act like ladies at all times and the boys must act like gentlemen at all times,” she said. One of the last things that Carl A. Furr, Sr. did as superintendent was help design Central Cabarrus High School and Northwest Cabarrus High School. Furr Jr. said that when his father retired in 1965, both schools were under construction. At that time, he wouldn’t let the district name any schools after him. The planetarium inside of Central Cabarrus was the one exception. “He was responsible for the planetarium at Central Cabarrus. At the time it was the ony planetarium between Washington and Miami. At the time it was a big deal,” Sharon said. “That was named for him, so he didn’t mind that.” When the elementary school was named for him after he passed away, Furr Jr. said the family couldn’t believe it, but they were pleased. “I think it’s great,” Furr Jr. said. And the couple, who happened to be celebrating their wedding anniversary on the day they visited the school, said interacting with the students was a great experience. “I feel like a celebrity,” Sharon said. “They were so good.”
The Independent Tribune, November 30, 2017
The Independent Tribune, November 30, 2017
Events
Families
Spouse | Beulah "Blanche" CURRENT (1903 - 1957) |
Child | Dr. Carl Augustus FURR Jr. (1933 - 2022) |
Child | Flora Catherine FURR (1933 - 1974) |
Father | Walter Columbus FURR (1870 - 1956) |
Mother | Rena Atte LITTLE (1867 - 1947) |
Sibling | Lela Maye FURR (1899 - 1974) |
Sibling | Charles Monroe "Charlie" FURR (1900 - 1990) |
Sibling | Alma Elizabeth FURR (1903 - 1986) |
Sibling | Ola Catherine FURR (1906 - 2006) |
Sibling | Earl Martin FURR (1909 - 2005) |
Sibling | Coy Lee FURR (1910 - 2007) |
Notes
Death
CONCORD — Carl Augustus Furr, 83, of 153 Eastover Drive, died this morning at Cabarrus Memorial Hospital. He is the brother-in-law of Miss Jeanette Current of Mt. Vernon in the Scotch-Lrish Township. The funeral will be held at 2 p.m Wednesday at Wilkinson Funeral Home Chapel conducted by Dr Jeftrey Wampler. Burial will be in the Oakwood Cemetery. The family will be at the funeral home Tuesday from 7 to 9 p.m. Born Nov 19, 1895 in Cabarrus County, Mr. Furr was the son of the late Walter and Rena Little Furr He was superintendent of the Cabarrus County Schools from 1938-65 before retiring and was principal of Woodleaf School in the 1920s and 1930s. He was a member of the First Presbyterian Church, the Concord Rotary Club, the American Legion, the NC Retired Superintendents Association and was a US. Navy Veteran of World War I. He was a graduate of the University of LaSalle in New Orleans and received his masters at UNC-Chapel Hill. His wife, Blanch Current Furr, preceded him in death. Survivors besides Miss Current include one son, Dr Carl A. Furr Jr of Concord, three brothers, Charles Furr of Albemarle, Coy Furr of Stanfield, and Earl Furr of Atlanta, Ga., two sisters, Mrs Charles Abernathy of Charlotte and Miss Alma Furr of Concord. In lieu of flowers, memorials may be sent to the building fund of First Presbyterian Church of Concord.Endnotes
1. North Carolina Birth Index, 1800-2000 [database online]. Provo, Utah: MyFamily.com, Inc., 2005.
2. North Carolina Marriage Collection, 1741-2004 [database on-line]. Provo, UT, USA: The Generations Network, Inc., 2007..
3. Salisbury Evening Post, Salisbury, North Carolina, July 16, 1979.
4. North Carolina Death Indexes, 1908-2004 [database on-line]. Provo, UT, USA: Ancestry.com Operations, Inc., 2007.
5. findagrave.com.