Milton E. Pharr, 75
WILLIAMSTOWN, Mass. — Milton Eliott Pharr, 75, of Willliamstown died Wednesday, Nov. 4, 2009, at Craneville Place in Dalton. Born in Gastonia, N.C., the second of five children of Robert and Edna Pharr, he graduated as valedictorian in 1952 from the all-black Highland High School there, where he played varsity baseball and pitched for the 1951 state champion team. He earned his bachelor of arts degree in English from DePauw University in Greencastle, Ind., where he continued his athletic career in baseball, and his master's degree in English literature from Columbia University in New York City. He moved to Williamstown in 1974.
An Army veteran, he served two years in the Signal Corps, including 13 months in Panama, where he taught English to local students.
Mr. Pharr was a longtime employee for the U.S. Social Security Administration, beginning in New York City and retiring as manager of the Social Security office in Pittsfield. During college, he worked part time for the National Scholarship Service and Fund for Negro Students, which had generously supported him as an undergraduate student. After retiring, he volunteered at the Milne Public Library.
His excellent education gave him a strong basis for the poetry, plays, and fiction he crafted throughout his life. He attributed his success in his career and achievement in education to his upbringing and the example set by his parents. He wrote, "I am what I am because of the unstinting love and support of my dear parents who raised us, under painfully segregated circumstances. They worked long, hard hours and, although they earned barely enough to support our family, where education was concerned, the word 'no' was not in their vocabulary."
Mr. Pharr remained athletic and active his entire life, devoted hours each day to his writing and still managed to walk several miles a day as well. He loved to play volleyball and bowl with his friends and also enjoyed softball, racquetball, badminton and bocce. An avid reader, he liked to spend countless hours in libraries, used bookstores and Barnes & Noble. He also considered himself an amateur film critic, having claimed to have walked out on thousands of movies. He was a true intellectual who loved to engage in political debate as much as he loved to watch the New York Yankees.
A beloved father, husband, brother and friend, he encouraged everyone he knew to become educated and to achieve their goals, no matter what the obstacles. He was a patient, quiet and humble man who loved to laugh or being the butt of the joke as long as everyone was laughing along with him.
He and his wife, the former Felicia Ciuro, were married in 1968 on Staten Island, N.Y. Mrs. Pharr earned her degree from Williams College in 1975.
Besides his wife, he leaves a son, Devin Pharr of Virginia and Kerina "Kerry" Pharr of New York City; his brother, Robert Pharr and his wife, Christine, of Philadelphia; his sisters Audrey Porter and her husband, Thomas, and Jennifer Davis and her husband, Fred, all of Gastonia; and his beloved dog and cat, Indiana and Woolly Bear.
He was predeceased by his brother, Ernest Pharr.
FUNERAL NOTICE — The funeral service will be held Saturday, Nov. 7, at 1 at United Methodist Church on Main Street. A reception will follow at the Williams Inn. Donations may be made in his honor to the Alzheimer's Foundation. Flowers may be sent to Flynn & Dagnoli Funeral Home.