Military Service

773rd at Camp Young, California, November 1942

Woody is in the middle row, fourth from left.

773rd at Camp Young, California

Death

Obituary

Ellwood “Woody” Furst Railroad sales manager, 85
Elwood H. “Woody” Furst, 85, of Wallingford, a decorated Army veteran and retired sales manager for the Pennsylvania Railroad, died Sunday of pneumonia at Taylor Hospital in Ridley Park. During World War II, he served with the 773d Tank Destroyer Battalion in George Patton’s Third Army in France, Luxembourg and Germany. He was awarded the bronze star for “meritorious operations” as a captain in a division that destroyed 105 enemy pillboxes and 113 tanks. Raised in Bellefonte, Pa., he was a graduate of Mercersburg Academy and attended Princeton University and Dickinson Law School. From 1947 until he retired in 1979, he was a salesman and then sales manager in Philadelphia for the Pennsylvania Railroad and its successors in the coal department, handling accounts for coal companies that used the railroads to transport their product. After his retirement, he was a photographer for the Swarthmorean, a weekly newspaper, developing photos in his own darkroom. An enthusiastic golfer, he was a member of Springhaven Golf Club. He was a Mason and a member of Swarthmore Presbyterian Church. Mr. Furst is survived by his wife of 42 years, Elinor Lee Fay Furst; sons James, Andrew and Douglas; daughter Kathy Hall; and seven grandchildren. There will be a memorial service at 4 p.m. today at Swarthmore Presbyterian Church. Burial is private. Memorial contributions may be made to the church, 727 Harvard Ave., Swarthmore, Pa. 19081.