Two longstanding members of the Coahoma County Board of Supervisors, who made contributions to the community for many decades, died Friday, March 8.
Katherine Furr, 89, who represented District 5 on the board for 15 years, died late Friday.
Timothy Burrel, 76, who represented District 3 for 19 years, died earlier in the day.
Furr remains the only female to be elected as a supervisor and serve as board president. She was in office from Jan. 1, 1992, to Dec. 31, 2007, before losing to Dr. Roger Weiner.
Furr’s nephew, Will Young, defeated Weiner in the 2015 election and is in the final year of his first term as supervisor.
Furr’s father, the late W.E. Young, who is also Will Young’s grandfather, was a supervisor for six terms and board president for four terms. Edmond Young, who is Will’s father and Furr’s brother, was a supervisor for two terms.
“She accomplished an awful lot while she was on the board,” Will Young said, adding he hopes she is remembered for “her fairness and reasonability.”
“She was rational and methodical in her thoughts," he said of Furr, who moved to Georgia after her tenure as supervisor. "She’s been missed ever since she moved. I hope I can live up to her legacy and the foundation that she laid.”
Burrel represented District 3 from Jan. 1, 1996, to Dec. 31, 2015, before falling in the election to current supervisor Derrell Washington.
Burrel helped Jonestown, which was in his district, secure funding for a multipurpose center close to 10 years ago. It was named the Timothy Burrel Multi Purpose Building.
“He was hard-working. He loved serving people," said Jonestown mayor Kenny Lester. "He went out and got grant money to get the new community center built. He was a big asset to Jonestown."
Burrel and Washington may have been political opponents, but they had mutual respect for each other, Washington said.
“The county has lost another great person. I think his legacy will live for a long, long time. He carried the Jonestown area for years. When he was running for political office, he would always win the Jonestown area. That says the people in Jonestown highly respected him and the work he did for the community," Washington said, adding that the multipurpose building is "something his family can actually touch and put their hands on and know that their loved one was responsible for it."
Longtime county supervisors Paul Pearson from District 1and board vice president Johnny Newson from District 4 served with both Furr and Burrel.
“Ms. Furr was already on the board when I came on,” said Pearson, who represents District 1. “She was very helpful in trying to show a newly elected supervisor what it takes to be a supervisor. She genuinely cared about her constituents. She worked really hard. She tried to do what was absolutely right to take care of the taxpayers and do what needed to be done.”
Pearson and Burrel both began their tenures as supervisors in 1996.
“He was a good supervisor. He enjoyed his job. He really did," Pearson said. “They were both very good leaders in the community and they both put the community first in their lives. They were both very good people.”
Newson, who represents District 4, took office the same year Furr became board president in 2004. He recalled that, back then, supervisors rotated being board president and served one year at a time.
“Mrs. Furr was already a seasoned supervisor when I got there,” Newson said. “She was already serving as president. She was very welcoming when I came aboard. She made sure that we understood all facets of county government. She was very, very instrumental in getting several projects completed, but she always reminded us that government moves slowly.”
Burrel was a mentor to Newson.
"Mr. Burrel was a very highly intelligent individual and he was very precise in whatever task he undertook. He was one of the greatest mentors that I have ever worked under as a junior supervisor. He basically taught me the ropes. He made sure that whatever I did I was doing correctly and by the law," Newson said.
"He’s going to do down as one of the greatest supervisors that I’ve ever come in contact with in Coahoma County. One thing about Mr. Burrel, he loved his community and he loved his county and he worked hard for it.”
Christopher Coleman, the former president of the Clarksdale/Coahoma County Chamber of Commerce, was a student W.A. Higgins Middle School while Burrel was principal.
“Mr. Burrel was strict and did not play games,” Coleman said. “Mr. Burrel's facial expression was generally stoic until someone got out of line with him. For some reason, that put the fear of God in me and many of the students at that time.
"As an adult, I treasure that experience. He taught us to respect adults and peers often without saying one word. That simple lesson opened many doors for me.”
