Individual Details

Marriage

Mr. and Mrs. T. J. Longwell of Knoxville, Tenn., announce the engagement of their daughter, Margaret Ann, to Olin Fayreli Furr, Jr., son of Mr. and Mrs. Olin Furr, Sr., of this city. Miss Longwell is a graduate of Fulton High School. She attended the University of Wisconsin and graduated from the University of South Carolina where she was a member of Kappa Delta Epsilon honorary sorority. She is a former American Field Service student to the Netherlands. She is presently a first grade teacher in Columbia. Mr. Furr attended Clinton High School and is a graduate of Greenville High School and the University of South Carolina. He is the former president of Alpha Phi Omega service fraternity and was vice-president of Euphradian Literary Society. Mr T Furr was elected to Who’s Who in American Colleges and Universities. He is a junior at the University of South Carolina Law School. The wedding is planned for the 10th of June at the First Cumberland Presbyterian Church in Knoxville.

Death

Olin Fayrell Furr, Jr., 82, passed away peacefully at his home on the Waccamaw River in Conway, South Carolina on April 3, 2025. Born in Clinton, South Carolina in 1943 to Helen Osborne and Olin Fayrell Furr, Sr., Fayrell was the first child in the Furr family to graduate from college, majoring in political science and history at the University of South Carolina. Following his graduation in 1965, he attended the University of South Carolina School of Law. Fayrell was drafted into the U.S. Army six days after his graduation and had to request a deferment to take the Bar exam. After passing the Bar exam, Fayrell was sent to basic training in Fort Dix, NJ, and later transferred to Fort Leonard Wood, MO, to train to be a combat engineer. He later applied to the JAG Corps and was transferred back to Fort Dix, eventually serving as a Captain. His first case as a lawyer was representing Tom Catlow, a prisoner in Fort Dix who rioted in opposition to his conditions of confinement. Fayrell's arguments at trial that Catlow was too young to consent to his forced enlistment were later successfully raised on appeal, resulting in binding case law that Miranda rights applied to interrogations of enlisted soldiers. Fayrell was sent to Vietnam in 1969, serving as a JAG Officer in Saigon, where he lived with his wife, Ann, who worked for the Salvation Army. Fayrell processed foreign claims, flying by plane and helicopter to villages around South Vietnam paying claims for property damaged in fighting. His largest processed claim for a destroyed ammunition dump that damaged nearby villages was so large it required the approval of Congress. He was awarded the Bronze Campaign Star for service in combat conditions. After returning to Columbia, SC and his discharge from the Army, Fayrell practiced law in a firm with Kermit King, which eventually became King & Furr. Fayrell and Ann's only daughter, Shannon, was born in 1975, and they lived in Columbia. Fayrell began working on medical malpractice cases early in his career, losing his first several cases. He founded the Law Office of Fayrell Furr, Jr. in 1979, and after losing two more jury trials, won a $6 million verdict in 1982. At the time, this was the largest jury verdict in the history of South Carolina. In 1983, Fayrell married Karole Jensen and moved to Myrtle Beach, opening the second office of his newly formed law firm Furr & Henshaw. Fayrell was a legend in the legal community. He served as the president of the South Carolina Trial Lawyers Association-now the SC Association for Justice (SCAJ)-from 1979-80 and remained active in the organization until his retirement from the practice of law in 2023. He was awarded the American Association for Justice Lifetime Achievement Award in 2011, the Southern Trial Lawyers Warhorse Award in 2010, and in 2023 the SCAJ created the O. Fayrell Furr, Jr., Champion of Justice Award in his honor. He was a member of the American Board of Trial Advocates, and received the Jeter E. Rhodes Trial Lawyer of the Year Award in 2019. Fayrell was a fellow in the American College of Trial Lawyers, was Board Certified as a Civil Trial Advocate by the National Board of Trial Advocates, and was Board Certified by the American Board of Professional Liability Attorneys. He was a guest lecturer to law students at the USC law school and was invited to lecture to doctors and perform mock depositions at MUSC. Fayrell was renowned for his dedication to his clients, his skilled advocacy in the courtroom, and his willingness to serve as a mentor and advisor to other trial lawyers in South Carolina. He and his wife Karole dedicated countless hours of service to cases involving children in the foster care system in South Carolina, and their efforts resulted in greater accountability for vulnerable children in foster care. Fayrell is predeceased by his parents; his sister, Ada Ann Freeman; and his son, Paul Furr. He is survived by his wife of 42 years, Karole Jensen; daughter Karolan Ohanesian (Glenn); daughter Shannon Bobertz (Jason); his grandchildren: Zack and Sam Ohanesian, Paul Holder, Kyle and Stormy Furr, and Sarah Bobertz; his brother Robert Furr (Sheila); and many nieces and nephews.
A visitation will be held at Goldfinch Funeral Home, Conway Chapel, on April 8, 2025 from noon to 2 p.m, with a funeral service immediately following. Internment at Southern Palms Memorial Gardens in North Myrtle Beach at 3:30 p.m. Fayrell will be buried with military honors. In lieu of flowers, Fayrell has requested donations be made to the South Carolina Association for Justice. Goldfinch Funeral Home, Conway Chapel, is in charge of the arrangements.