Individual Details

Death

Fred left us on Wednesday, December 12th, 2018 from his home in Gulfport, MS. He was born in Wesson, MS in 1933 but moved to Gulfport, MS after the death of his father and remarriage of his mother. He went to East Ward Elementary school, Gulfport Junior High, and Gulfport High School. Upon graduation, his being voted Boy Most Likely to Succeed was perhaps the predictor of his multi-faceted career. Fred attended Mississippi State, where he majored in Ornamental Horticulture. He was invited and joined the military honor society “Scabbard and Blade” and was a member of the then famous drill team. He was the vice president of his fraternity while at State, Sigma Phi Epsilon. After college, Fred joined the Navy and was commissioned as an Ensign in 1956. He became the OIC of an ABC Defense trainer, then assistant OIC of the Navy’s Survival, Escape and Evasion School. After active duty, he worked on several important projects with his drill unit, Naval Intelligence Reserve Unit 821 until he was transferred to the Retired Reserve as a Lt/Cdr in 1972. After his active duty in the Navy, Fred resumed his first interest, that of floral design. He achieved national recognition by being elected to the GARD designer’s hall of fame, being one of the top 100 designers in the country at that time. He designed at the first International Floral Design school in Charlotte North Carolina at the pinnacle of his design career. In 1968, Fred joined the work force of Boeing Aerospace, and while working in the Work Control group at the S1-C test facility was presented the Astronaut’s Personal award “The Silver Snoopy” for his contribution to the space effort. Fred then took a position with the Louisiana Attorney General’s Office working as the Law Enforcement manager at the Louisiana Criminal Justice Information System central office. He was instrumental in that position, helping to get the first automation of the LSP fingerprint file on line. Fred then was hired by the Louisiana Office of Hospitals, then the Louisiana Health Care Authority, to manage the manual/automated patient accounting system for eight of the ten Charity Hospitals. He and a team worked with the vendor to install the initial on-line automated patient accounting system at those same hospitals, and he remained, supporting the users of that system until he retired. Preceded in death by his parents, Frederic and Mittie Furr; and his only brother, Dr. Randle Furr, Sr. He is survived by his beloved wife of 62 years Peggy (Hart) Furr; two sons, Richard and Frederic, Daughter-in-law, Rainnie, and two grandchildren, Logan and Marshall. Pursuant to his desires, there will be no funeral service. Cremation will be conducted by Riemann Family Funeral Home, in Gulfport.