Individual Details
Aaron Keith FURR
(5 Mar 1932 - 31 Mar 2016)
Furr to retire from university
Virginia Tech Spectrum, December 1, 1994
A. Keith Furr, director of Environmental Health and Safety Services, is retiring from the university after more than 34 years.
Furr joined the faculty in the Department of Physics in September 1960, eventually achieving the rank of full professor in that department in 1970. While there, he was closely associated with the university's nuclear reactor and became director of the facility in 1971. During this time he directed doctoral and master's students, published more than 60 journal publications, and two books. In 1964 he created a neutron-activation analysis laboratory at the reactor, which was among the most active in the country. Most of the projects dealt with the role of trace elements in the environment, which he worked on in collaboration with other scientists within the university, other universities, and national agencies. In 1971 he transferred to mechanical engineering where he continued nuclear research.
In the early 1970s, in cooperation with the biology department, he created a program in radiation safety that graduated more than 100 specialists in radiation safety before its closure in the early '80s. In the late 1980s he was charged with decommissioning and dismantling the university's research reactor. He has been either a member or chairman of the university's Radiation Safety Committee since its inception in 1960 and member of numerous other university committees.
In 1973, Furr was asked to draft a plan for a comprehensive safety program for the university. The plan was implemented in 1974 with the creation of what is now the Environmental Health and Safety Services Department. In 1975, Furr was asked to become the department's director.
The department has grown to encompass safety concerns in air quality, chemical safety and chemical waste disposal, health effects of the environment, environmental concerns such as asbestos, lead, radiation, infectious materials, electrical and mechanical safety, building construction and design, personal protective equipment, and many other safety areas.
The department is also responsible for ensuring that employees understand the hazards of working with chemicals, community-right-to-know, bloodborne pathogens, and safety training for employees working in confined spaces.
Furr will remain in the Blacksburg area, where he will continue to write as well as pursue other interests.
1962 Furr, Aaron Keith.
"Average Resonance Parameters Near A = 100."
Physics Dept., Virginia Polytechnic Institute, Blacksburg, VA
Virginia Tech Spectrum, December 1, 1994
A. Keith Furr, director of Environmental Health and Safety Services, is retiring from the university after more than 34 years.
Furr joined the faculty in the Department of Physics in September 1960, eventually achieving the rank of full professor in that department in 1970. While there, he was closely associated with the university's nuclear reactor and became director of the facility in 1971. During this time he directed doctoral and master's students, published more than 60 journal publications, and two books. In 1964 he created a neutron-activation analysis laboratory at the reactor, which was among the most active in the country. Most of the projects dealt with the role of trace elements in the environment, which he worked on in collaboration with other scientists within the university, other universities, and national agencies. In 1971 he transferred to mechanical engineering where he continued nuclear research.
In the early 1970s, in cooperation with the biology department, he created a program in radiation safety that graduated more than 100 specialists in radiation safety before its closure in the early '80s. In the late 1980s he was charged with decommissioning and dismantling the university's research reactor. He has been either a member or chairman of the university's Radiation Safety Committee since its inception in 1960 and member of numerous other university committees.
In 1973, Furr was asked to draft a plan for a comprehensive safety program for the university. The plan was implemented in 1974 with the creation of what is now the Environmental Health and Safety Services Department. In 1975, Furr was asked to become the department's director.
The department has grown to encompass safety concerns in air quality, chemical safety and chemical waste disposal, health effects of the environment, environmental concerns such as asbestos, lead, radiation, infectious materials, electrical and mechanical safety, building construction and design, personal protective equipment, and many other safety areas.
The department is also responsible for ensuring that employees understand the hazards of working with chemicals, community-right-to-know, bloodborne pathogens, and safety training for employees working in confined spaces.
Furr will remain in the Blacksburg area, where he will continue to write as well as pursue other interests.
1962 Furr, Aaron Keith.
"Average Resonance Parameters Near A = 100."
Physics Dept., Virginia Polytechnic Institute, Blacksburg, VA
Events
| Birth | 5 Mar 1932 | North Carolina |  | ||
| Marriage | 22 Mar 1958 | Rowan County, NC - Dora Anne MONDON | | ||
| Death | 31 Mar 2016 | Florida |  | |
Families
| Spouse | Dora Anne MONDON (1930 - 2011) |
| Child | Elizabeth Anne FURR (1964 - 2022) |
| Child | Living |
| Child | Living |
| Child | Living |
| Father | Carl Albert FURR (1892 - 1976) |
| Mother | Sue Thomas HOWELL (1897 - 1980) |
| Sibling | Mildred Kimrey FURR (1919 - 1989) |
| Sibling | Charles Albert FURR (1921 - 1997) |
| Sibling | Helen Sue FURR (1924 - 2006) |
Notes
Death
Dr. Aaron Keith Furr, 84, of Brooksville, Florida passed away on Thursday, March 31, 2016. Born in Rowan County, NC on March 5, 1932, he was a longtime resident of Blacksburg, VA before retiring to Florida. He was the son of Carl Albert Furr and Sue Howell Furr and grew up in Salisbury, NC. He attended Catawba College, Emory University, and Duke University, graduating from Duke in 1958 with a PhD. in nuclear physics. The love of his life was his wife, Dora Mondon Furr, of Brooksville, whom he met at Duke and was married to for over 50 years, from March 22, 1958 until her death on September 1, 2011. Dr. Furr is survived by his daughter, Elizabeth Furr of Brooksville, his daughter Julie Furr Youngman and her husband Paul and their children Alex, Madeleine, and Lily, of Lexington, VA, his son Joel Furr and his wife Carole, of Richmond, VT, and his son Rob Furr, of Calgary, AB. Dr. Furr spent his entire career at Virginia Tech, as Professor of Nuclear Science and Engineering and then as director of the campus environmental health and safety department, retiring in 1998 to Florida. Dr. Furr loved books and reading, science, cats, and sharing his firmly held opinions on a variety of subjects both serious and trivial. He had his silly side, periodically tormenting his family with caterwauling renditions of the song “Blood on the Saddle” and other classics. He will be missed. A memorial service will be held on Saturday, May 28 at 2 pm at Dr. Furr’s house, 201 Sunset Drive, in Brooksville. In lieu of flowers, donations are encouraged to Jericho Road Ministries (http://www.jericho-road.net/), the Hernando County Public Library (http://www.hcpl.lib.fl.us/), or the Southern Environmental Law Center (https://www.southernenvironment.org/).Endnotes
1. North Carolina Birth Index, 1800-2000 [database online]. Provo, Utah: MyFamily.com, Inc., 2005.
2. North Carolina Marriage Collection, 1741-2004 [database on-line]. Provo, UT, USA: The Generations Network, Inc., 2007..
3. Carole and Jay Furr, firrs.org.
4. Merritt Funeral Home, Brooksville, Florida.