Individual Details

Death

Dr. Oneta Roberts Furr, 100, a longtime Texas educator, experienced her final earthly transition on Tuesday, January 13, 2015, in Abilene, Texas. Visitation will be from 6:00 to 8:00 p.m. Thursday, January 15, at The Hamil Family Funeral Home, 6449 Buffalo Gap Road in Abilene. A memorial service will be held at 3:00 p.m. Friday, January 16, at St. Paul United Methodist Church. Dr. Furr was born in Jones County to Mr. and Mrs. J. J. Roberts. After being graduated from Anson High School she immediately entered North Texas State University in Denton to begin the realization of her lifelong dream of becoming a teacher. She earned a bachelors degree from McMurry College, and masters and doctoral degrees from North Texas State University. She also did post-doctoral study at Texas Woman's University, the University of Oklahoma, and Southern Methodist University. During her early professional career Dr. Furr taught in public and private elementary schools before moving to the university level to teach. She was Professor of Education at Midwestern State University for 29 years. She organized and initiated the Department of Elementary Education at MSU, together with programs in Early Childhood Education and graduate-level major and minor programs in Reading Education. Her special interests were in the fields of reading education and child development, in which areas she concentrated her research. She served as State Coordinator for the International Reading Association for a number of years, and was especially active in the Texas Association for the Improvement of Reading. She was much in demand as a consultant in Reading Education and Early Childhood Education throughout north Texas and southern Oklahoma. Dr. Furr made significant contributions to the improvement of reading instruction through the publication of numerous papers in professional education journals. As Professor in Education she worked diligently to improve reading and writing skills of children and youth by means of thorough and effective education of teachers. Her success in that effort is attested by the high esteem in which she was universally held among her students and their proficiency as professional practitioners. Her positive influence will be felt in the field of education for many years to come. After retiring as Professor of Education Emeritus at Midwestern State University, Dr. Furr served as the Teacher Certification Officer and Adjunct Professor of Education at Hardin-Simmons University for twelve years. Dr. Furr married her precious life-long partner, Dr. H. Bedford Furr, who pre-deceased her on the morning of their Sixty-Ninth Wedding Anniversary, May 24, 2011. Often through educational pursuits such as endowing scholarships, they made it possible for others to achieve a fuller awareness of God's goodness and a finer development of one's talents with which to serve and help others. Memorials may be made to the Drs. Bedford and Oneta Furr Endowed Scholarship at Hardin-Simmons University or the Drs. Bedford and Oneta Furr Endowed Scholarship at McMurry University.
Published in Abilene Reporter-News on Jan. 15, 2015