Individual Details

Death

Caleb Leonard Furr, widely known here for his efforts in behalf of the blind, died at 7:30 last night at his home at 884 North Third. He was 88. Mr. Furr, blind from birth, pioneered in work for the sightless in Memphis by establishing a workshop for them in the Bethel Building at 333 Adams in 1910. Handicapped workers found employment there in the manufacture of brooms, mops and rugs. The workshop led to the organization of the Memphis Workshop for the Blind in the 1930s. Ill since December, 1955, Mr. Furr in recent years had been a cabinetmaker at the Shelby County Board of Education cabinet shop in Whitehaven. Born in Marshall County, Miss., Mr. Furr came here shortly after 1900. He was a member of the Guild for the Blind and of First Methodist Church. Mr. Furr was the husband of Mrs. Olive Gray Furr, who also was born blind. He also leaves a daughter, Mrs. Charles Edward Henderson Sr. of Memphis; a sister, Mrs. J. W. Whiteside of Hickory Flat, Miss., and two grandsons. National Funeral Home has charge.
The Commercial Appeal, Memphis, Tennessee, JUne 16, 1957