Individual Details
Vance Lee FURR Jr.
(29 Jun 1945 - 19 Nov 2011)
MOUNT HOLLY––The late Vance Furr is among those awarded this year by the Mount Holly Sports Hall of Fame.
Furr, who passed away 13 years ago at the age of 66, is the 2024 recipient of the Mount Holly Sports Hall of Fame Community Service Award. Furr was well known locally for believing in kids and helping them succeed; his work as a schoolteacher in Cabarrus County and as a coach in Mount Holly; his three decades as an agent for the North Carolina State Bureau of Investigation; and his subsequent work as a private investigator. At six-seven and well more than 200 pounds, Furr was a big man who had a big heart for kids.
Herself also a veteran teacher, his widow, DeLina Furr, recently extolled her late husband. The two met at the old Mount Holly Junior High in 1976, as Mrs. Furr recalled.
“He came to give a drug talk,” she said. “And at that time, Quaaludes and marijuana were the big drugs. And my family knew the chief of police, and Vance asked a policeman who I was. We dated a few times, and I thought that was it; that I’d never see him again. We met again at a church retreat and committed to marriage.”
They wed in 1980. Their 31-year love story chronicles a man devoted to his Baptist faith, his wife, his SBI career and, entwined with all that, his devotion to the kids of Mount Holly. It was Coach Furr’s volunteer work––his ceaseless involvement with the Mount Holly Optimist Club, the town’s Field of Dreams project, the athletic building at Tuckasegee Park and a multitude of youth activities––that earned him this posthumous award.
“Vance was a pretty lively fellow,” Mrs. Furr observed, “and he got several awards throughout his life. But I think he would enjoy this the most, because he loved the youth of Mount Holly, and he wanted to work for his community. I’m sure if he were here to accept it, he’d have something witty to say. He might also have a tear or two, because this would mean so much. He got the Order of the Long Leaf Pine (North Carolina’s highest civilian honor), some coaching awards and some from the SBI. But he would say this means the most.”
She recalled her husband working long hours for the SBI, sometimes undercover.
Lincoln Herald, Lincolnton, North Carolina, July 20, 2024
Furr, who passed away 13 years ago at the age of 66, is the 2024 recipient of the Mount Holly Sports Hall of Fame Community Service Award. Furr was well known locally for believing in kids and helping them succeed; his work as a schoolteacher in Cabarrus County and as a coach in Mount Holly; his three decades as an agent for the North Carolina State Bureau of Investigation; and his subsequent work as a private investigator. At six-seven and well more than 200 pounds, Furr was a big man who had a big heart for kids.
Herself also a veteran teacher, his widow, DeLina Furr, recently extolled her late husband. The two met at the old Mount Holly Junior High in 1976, as Mrs. Furr recalled.
“He came to give a drug talk,” she said. “And at that time, Quaaludes and marijuana were the big drugs. And my family knew the chief of police, and Vance asked a policeman who I was. We dated a few times, and I thought that was it; that I’d never see him again. We met again at a church retreat and committed to marriage.”
They wed in 1980. Their 31-year love story chronicles a man devoted to his Baptist faith, his wife, his SBI career and, entwined with all that, his devotion to the kids of Mount Holly. It was Coach Furr’s volunteer work––his ceaseless involvement with the Mount Holly Optimist Club, the town’s Field of Dreams project, the athletic building at Tuckasegee Park and a multitude of youth activities––that earned him this posthumous award.
“Vance was a pretty lively fellow,” Mrs. Furr observed, “and he got several awards throughout his life. But I think he would enjoy this the most, because he loved the youth of Mount Holly, and he wanted to work for his community. I’m sure if he were here to accept it, he’d have something witty to say. He might also have a tear or two, because this would mean so much. He got the Order of the Long Leaf Pine (North Carolina’s highest civilian honor), some coaching awards and some from the SBI. But he would say this means the most.”
She recalled her husband working long hours for the SBI, sometimes undercover.
Lincoln Herald, Lincolnton, North Carolina, July 20, 2024
Events
| Birth | 29 Jun 1945 | Cabarrus County, NC |  | ||
| Death | 19 Nov 2011 | Mount Holly, Gaston County, NC |  | | |
| Marriage | Living | ||||
| Burial | Hillcrest Gardens Cemetery, Mount Holly, Gaston County, NC | |
Families
| Spouse | Living |
| Father | Vance Lee FURR (1916 - 1990) |
| Mother | Hazel Virginia CRAYTON (1923 - 2008) |
| Sibling | Living |
| Sibling | Nancy Lynn FURR (1951 - 2021) |
Notes
Death
MOUNT HOLLY -- Vance Lee Furr, Jr., 66, died Saturday, November 19, 2011 at his home. He was born in Cabarrus County, son of the late Vance L. Furr, Sr. and Hazel Crayton Furr of Concord. For thirty years he was an agent with the North Carolina State Bureau of Investigations and, after retirement, established Vance Furr Private Investigations. He was a member of Tuckaseege Baptist Church where he served as deacon, Sunday school teacher, and youth leader. He also worked many years in the Mount Holly Optimist Club. He is survived by his wife, DeLina Furr; two sisters, Rebecca Furr of Kannapolis and Nancy Stalvey of Gastonia; nephew, Jodie Patterson; and nieces, Penny Davis, Pam Edwards, Wendy Patterson, and Jamie Smith; uncles and aunts, A.W. and Shirley Furr of Stone Mountain, GA, Bill and Carolyn Taylor of Salisbury, and Mac and Iris Crayton of Concord; many great- and great-great-nieces and nephews; and special 'grandchildren,' McKenna Boyd and Walker Bradley of Mount Holly. The family would like to offer special thanks to Oncology Specialists of Charlotte and Presbyterian Hospice. A service to celebrate the life of Mr. Furr will be held at 3:00 p.m. Tuesday, November 22, at Tuckaseege Baptist Church, Mount Holly, with Reverends Larry Arrowwood, Mack Pressley, and Max Pendleton officiating. Burial will follow at Hillcrest Gardens Cemetery. The family will receive friends from 1:00 p.m. - 3:00 p.m. Tuesday at the church. Active pallbearers will be Jim Hope, Butch VanDyke, Joe Bracy, Buddy Ross, Bill Lane, Scott Wright, and Eddie Wyatt. Honorary Pallbearers will consist of all law enforcement personnel in attendance. Memorials may be made to Presbyterian Hospice and Palliative Care, P.O. Box 33549, Charlotte, NC 28233. Woodlawn Funeral Home in Mount Holly is serving the Furr family.The Charlotte Observer, Charlotte, North Carolina, November 21, 2011
Endnotes
1. North Carolina Birth Index, 1800-2000 [database online]. Provo, Utah: MyFamily.com, Inc., 2005.
2. The Gaston Gazette, Gastonia, North Carolina, November 19, 2011.
3. The Charlotte Observer, Charlotte, North Carolina, November 21, 2011.
4. findagrave.com.