David Houseal Furse 1943-2024

NASHVILLE'S David Houseal Furse, husband, parent, entrepreneur, university educator, advisor, investor and U.S. Army veteran, died unexpectedly at age 81, during a family vacation in Mexico, Dec. 18, 2024.

A celebration of his life is to begin 4 p.m. Saturday, Feb. 15, at Nashville's West End United Methodist Church.

Furse's survivors include his widow, Kimberly Pace, and children Kristina Davis PhD of Michigan and Nashville-based Erik Furse MAcc CPA CIA CFE. More family details below in this story.

Since 2011, Furse, CEO Pace and long-time friend Michael Burcham, have led Executive Aura, a leadership development and business strategy firm the three co-founded and which continues.

The trio of serial founders were also colleagues in executing programs related to entrepreneurship, leadership and related studies and projects offered over the years within the Owen Graduate School of Management at Vanderbilt University.

Michael Burcham

Burcham, who is also an executive of Shore Capital, was quoted in a Feb. 7 piece on the Nashville Entrepreneur Center website as saying, "When I launched Nashville Entrepreneur Center, David didn't just support me - he became a cornerstone of our mentorship program, dedicating thousands of hours to guide entrepreneurs. For David, it was never about recognition; it was about impact. His wisdom, kindness, and generosity of spirit left an indelible mark on everyone he coached and mentored."

Eric Johnson

Asked by VNC for comment, former Owen GSM Dean Eric Johnson summed-up his views: "David was a treasure. He was an extraordinary mentor for many Vanderbilt students. He provided just the right combination of encouragement and realism."

Bruce Lynskey, a former Owen GSM professor of management now based in the Boston area, confirmed for VNC that he had received the "sad news" of his former colleague Furse's passing.

"We got along well," said Lynskey, adding that one component of their chemistry was the business savvy they shared from extensive prior experience in industry.

Lynskey also noted that Furse's on-campus work with Burcham -- particularly while that duo was "teaching the wildly successful entrepreneurship course in Vanderbilt undergraduate program" -- often led to Lynskey meeting with students teams to critique their business concepts or judge some of their "Shark Tank"-like final presentations.

PEACEMAKING

Chris McMurtry

Chris "CMac" McMurtry, a Middle Tennessean who's now EVP-Global Enterprise Innovation for OpenPlay, remains a full-blooded Furse Fan, notwithstanding -- and perhaps partly because of -- difficult times they shared as respective investor and founder.

McMurtry reminded us that, as he attempted during 2015-17 to scale his Nashville startup Dart (aka Dart Music, Dart Data), he raised about $1.2MM in convertible debt, with investor Furse serving as chairman and with music-sector entrepreneurs Joe Galante and Mark Montgomery onboard, among others.

Prior to that raise, McMurtry had used computer-consulting fees he had been generating for years to float the company and retain majority ownership.

In time, Furse delivered to McMurtry the news that board members wanted a change of leadership -- often a stage-appropriate startup move -- or they'd call their notes.

McMurtry dug-in and eliminated the most dissident directors, including Furse, who then, in effect, forced Dart to seek bankruptcy protection.

McMurtry lost control and most of the investors ultimately experienced substantial losses on their interests, with some residual assets being sold to CoreRights, as VNC reported.

Some time after the Dart dust settled, McMurtry said Furse took him to lunch.

McMurtry said he nearly cried at one point when Furse told him, "I'm proud of you."

Astonished, McMurtry said he asked, Why?

McMurtry said Furse replied, "Because you only had one card left to play" -- i.e., to reorganize the board. Furse added despite the fact that move was followed by the failure of the business, it showed courage and commitment that Furse prized.

That tale of Furse's clarity and directness, is reminiscent of advice Furse gave founders in several "Entrepreneur Minute" presentations he produced with backing of Baker Donelson, of which I was today reminded by attorney Chris Sloan.

Those videos bring straight-from-the-shoulder entrepreneurial advice, right here: 1st | 2nd.

WARMAKING

From 1967-1969, Furse served as a U.S. Army infantry officer with the John F. Kennedy Special Warfare School in North Carolina at Fort Bragg (renamed Fort Liberty in 2022).

During that service, while he was a 1st Lieutenant, he was assigned to the 22nd Public Information Office Detachment and embedded with the U.S. Army's 9th Division ("The Old Reliables") during the division's operations in the Mekong Delta, considered by many as the site of the most difficult terrain and tenacious enemy engagements during the Vietnam War.

On Sept. 3, 1968, during a helicopter transit, he was wounded in the course of military operations against a hostile force, but was able to remain on-duty. He was awarded the Purple Heart two weeks later.

Earlier today, Kimberly Pace and Erik Furse told VNC that David Furse sought no praise and was discreet regarding his service, which he considered his duty as an American, though he welcomed periodic reunions with his former comrades-in-arms.

Pace said he also shared with her that once he had considered and accepted the possibility of his death in combat, he was no longer afraid.

Pace noted it was only after he and she had journeyed to peacetime Vietnam that he opened-up more about "how 'quiet' America was after returning. No support. No homecoming..."

FAMILY

In addition to surviving family mentioned above, we quote from a document provided by Ms. Pace, as follows (quoting):

...Grandchildren Aleya and Emilia Davis; former spouse and mother of his children Gunn Furse; brother James (Deborah) Furse, sister-in-law Nevelle Furse; brother-in-law Ken (Maurine) Pace, mother-in-law Faye Pace, admired nieces and nephews, and his two Shih Tzus Coco Chanel and Liza Minelli. Preceding his death were his parents, Sarah Beacham and Stephen Furse III of Decatur, GA; sisters Sally (John) Harper and Julie (Charles) Farr; brothers Stephen Furse IV (Carol) and John Furse Sr.; and father-in-law Tom Pace. His ancestors -- from an archbishop to military leaders -- were from Savannah, GA, and the United Kingdom.

LIFELONG PURSUIT

Apart from his academic career, Furse once launched the Nashville Consulting Group (NCG), which is said to have broken new ground in patient satisfaction and outcomes measurement. After selling NCG Research in 1999, he led PortMD, creating tools to aid children with behavioral and learning challenges, as reported by Nashville Post in 2020.

Furse earned his PhD in business administration at Georgia State University (1974), in Atlanta; his Master's of Science in advertising at the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign (1967); and, his bachelor's in journalism at the University of Georgia (1965), at Athens.

His scholarly work led to his analyses being cited elsewhere, e.g., his research for the Army Digest was cited in a study of Vietnam Era Kit Carson Scouts; and, in a Harvard Business Review article on "Why Satisfied Customers Defect."

A celebration of life document from the family is here.

Also: Best Friend Michael Burcham eulogizes Furse. And: Nashville EC piece here by Sam Davidson. VNC

.last edited 2016 10 February 2024