Individual Details

Marriage

Wade — Miss Edna Lee became the bride of Lt. William H. Furr, Jr., on June 28 at the Bluff Presbyterian Church here with the Rev. David F. Blue, pastor, officiating. Mrs. James Maxwell was pianist, and Miss Barbara Maynard, niece of the bride, was soloist. Mrs. Millard E, Price, sister of the bride, was soloist. The bride, given in marriage by her father, wore a dress of white lace. A veil of shoulder-length bridal illusion fell from the matching halo cap, and she carried a bouquet of stephanotis and carnations centered with a purple orchid. Miss Ann Lee was her sister’s maid of honor. She wore a dress of light blue lace with matching gloves and hat. Her nosegay was of pastel flowers tied with matching ribbon. Mrs. Furr is the daughter of Mr. and Mrs. J. Floyd Lee of Wade. She is a graduate of Central High School and the Baker Sanatorium School of Nursing at Lumberton. For the past two and a half years she has been employed as general staff nurse at Highsmith Hospital at Fayetteville. Lieutenant Furr is the son of Mrs. William H. Furr and the late Mr. Furr of Hollandale, Miss., and is stationed at Camp Gordon, Ga.

Death

Retired Maj. William H. Furr, of Fayetteville, died Thursday, Feb. 20, 2014, and will be interred with military honors at the Sandhills Veterans Cemetery in Spring Lake Friday, Feb. 28, 2014, at 2 p.m. Maj. Furr is survived by his adored wife of more than 68 years, Edna "Lee"; two sons; four grandchildren; and two sisters. His remarkable life of 92 years began on Feb. 9, 1922, in Sharkey County, Miss. As a child he survived the Great Mississippi Flood of 1927, the Stock Market Crash of 1929, and the subsequent Great Depression of the 1930's. Industrious, he embodied the great American spirit of individual responsibility and success based on hard work, education and commitment to family. Maj. Furr enlisted in the Army in October 1940. In 1943, he was commissioned and assigned to Fort Bragg. He met his future wife, Edna of Wade, who was a registered nurse at the then Highsmith Hospital. They married in June 1945. Released from active duty in 1946, he was recalled to active duty in 1950 and subsequently served overseas tours of duty in Germany, Italy and Iran, and had stateside assignments to Fort Bragg and Fort Meade, Md. A year prior to his retirement from the Army in 1965, he completed his bachelor's degree at the University of Maryland, setting the example for his sons to complete their college educations. He retired from the Army in 1965, and in 1966, he entered federal civil service at Fort Meade. He later became one of the original staff members of Headquarters, Forces Command (Forscom) in Atlanta. After his retirement from civil service in 1986, he and Edna returned to Fayetteville and built a home in Wells Place. In his 25-year-old blue Ford Ranger pickup truck, he became a familiar sight in the neighborhood, on Raeford Road, and at the Fort Bragg golf courses. He will be much missed by family members and friends. Maj. Furr's lasting legacy will be that of a committed husband and father, a good soldier and a good man, who lived a principled life and sought to set an example for his family. Reeves Funeral Home of Hope Mills.

Military

Name: William H Furr
Birth Year: 1922
Race: White, citizen
Nativity State or Country: Mississippi
State: Mississippi
Enlistment Date: 21 Oct 1940
Enlistment State: Mississippi
Enlistment City: Jackson
Branch: Medical Department - For Enlisted Men of the Medical Department (includes Enlisted Men of the Medical Department on Duty with the Dental Corps)
Branch Code: Medical Department - For Enlisted Men of the Medical Department (includes Enlisted Men of the Medical Department on Duty with the Dental Corps) or Army Nurse Corps
Grade: Private
Grade Code: Private
Term of Enlistment: Enlistment for the Panama Canal Department
Component: Regular Army (including Officers, Nurses, Warrant Officers, and Enlisted Men)
Source: Civil Life
Education: 1 year of college
Marital Status: Single, without dependents
Height: 66
Weight: 132