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Isothermal News |
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Donor leaves generous gift to
Isothermal SPINDALE (Sept. 14, 2009) - Mildred McDonald Furches, who grew up on the farmland that is now occupied by Isothermal Community College, has left the institution a generous gift of approximately $1.5 million. According to Mrs. Furches’ wishes, the money will be used to supplement four of the scholarship programs she had already established at Isothermal and to start some new scholarships. Details of those programs are being worked out by administrators. Furches passed away on March 13, 2009, at her home in Southern Pines. She was buried in the Adaville Baptist Church Cemetery, which is surrounded by college property that was once her family’s farm. Nearby Adaville Baptist Church is also on property once owned by the McDonald family and is named after Furches’ mother, Ada Moore McDonald. The gift of $1.4 million in cash and more than $60,000 in government bonds was presented to college officials last week by Russell McDonald, a nephew of Mrs. Furches, and his wife, Doris. |
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“We called her Aunt Mid and she was a wonderful woman,” said Russell. “When I think about it, I am absolutely amazed at her desire to support education and how much that support has meant to students over the years. She has given generously not only to Isothermal, but to Sandhills Community College, Mars Hill, East Carolina and UNC.” Dr. Myra Johnson, Isothermal’s president, thanked Mr. McDonald for his work on behalf of Furches’ estate. “She’ll never know the great impact she has had already on the lives of so many students,” said Johnson, “or the magnitude of such a meaningful legacy that will truly help the college meet its mission of improving life through learning.” In the 1990s, Mrs. Furches started establishing scholarships at Isothermal. One was in memory of her parents, Monroe and Ada McDonald; two remembered two of her brothers, James Monroe McDonald and W.H. “Shorty” McDonald; the fourth was in memory of an aunt, Kate Moore. During that time, Mrs. Furches visited then-president, Dr. Williard L. Lewis, and his secretary, Glenda Scruggs, occasionally. Both were present when the gift was made, which “couldn’t have come at a better time,” Lewis said. Born Aug. 16, 1918, in Spindale, Mrs. Furches graduated from R-S Central High School in 1935 and received the school’s First Honor Medal. She graduated from East Carolina College and went to work as a home management supervisor for the Farm Security Administration. In 1944, she married Douthit Lawrence “Doc” Furches, who was drafted into the U.S. Army in 1942 and retired from his military career in 1964 as a lieutenant colonel. During her husband's Army career, the couple lived in Arkansas, Utah, Maryland, Boston, Massachusetts, Alabama, North Carolina, and Yokohama, Japan. In Japan, she was a home economics teacher at the school where Doc was principal. She earned a master's degree in clothing and textiles from UNC-Greensboro in 1962. Upon his retirement from the Army, the couple moved to Southern Pines, where Doc helped establish and direct the Adult Education Program of Sandhills Community College. She was very involved in and supportive of his work and in other community activities. In 1996, Doc, who died two years earlier, and Mid were honored with membership in the Order of the Longleaf Pine and the Sandhills Community College Foundation. |
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Mike Gavin Director of Marketing and Community Relations Isothermal Community College mgavin@isothermal.edu 828-286-3636, ext. 206 www.isothermal.edu Creating Success, Hope, Opportunity, Jobs |
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