Librarian leaves a remarkable legacy
ESU announces the largest single gift in its history
Sept. 27, 2007
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ESU announces the largest single gift in its history
Behind an amazing gift from the late Martha Kruse Furbur is a simple story of saving and frugal living, leading to the largest single gift in the history of Emporia State University. Mrs. Furbur left $1.875 million to ESU to support student scholarships in the School of Library and Information Management (SLIM), honoring her alma mater and providing for students in perpetuity.
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Martha Kruse Furbur, from the 1938 yearbook |
The distinction of the “single-largest gift” in ESU history is not one it has had very long. It was the second-largest single gift until Wednesday, Sept. 26, when another installment from the settling of Mrs. Furbur’s estate arrived at the ESU Foundation and pushed the gift into the top spot.
Mrs. Furbur, who came to Kansas State Teachers College for post-graduate work, catalogued 6,000 volumes in the William Allen White library before finishing her library certificate from SLIM in 1938. She spent her career working in public libraries, ending at the Orange County Public Library in Santa Ana, Calif. She passed away in May 2006 at the age of 92.
She saved and invested, living frugally for her own needs but showing her generosity to numerous organizations, said Byron Groves, the attorney who handled her estate. Her husband died in the 1970s, and she had no close relatives. Somewhere along the way – perhaps it was her favorite SLIM instructor, Elsie (Howard) Pine – her continued relationship with the people of Emporia State University led her to make the largest gift the university has ever seen.
“You just never know,” Groves said. “You plant these seeds, and you never know where they are going to grow. I think she just did it because she knew (ESU) really made a big difference in her life.”
The School of Library and Information Management is the oldest school of library and information studies in the western half of the United States. Founded in 1902, the school offers ESU’s only doctoral degree and is one of a select group of doctoral offerings nationwide in the field of library science and information management.
Last Updated April 17, 2008