Dr Terry Amburgey

 

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Terry Amburgey died on April 1 in Columbus, Mississippi at the age of 81.  Terry was born on December 11, 1940, to Samuel and Neva Alberta Amburgey in Trenton, New Jersey. He graduated with BS and MS degrees in forest pathology from SUNY College of Environmental Science and Forestry during 1959-1965, and with a PhD from NCSU in Plant Pathology/Phytopathology in 1969. Terry then spent 10 years as a Research Wood Decay Specialist with the USDA Forest Service in Gulfport, Mississippi prior to moving to MSU in 1979.

Terry was a professor for 30 years in the College of Forest Resources at Mississippi State University, retiring in 2009. He received Awards of Merit from both the American Wood Protection Association and the Railway Tie Association and was elected as a Fellow of the International Academy of Wood Science. While at Mississippi State, he was given the title of Giles Distinguished Professor and received several awards for his teaching by the Department of Forest Products, the College of Forest Resources, and the Mississippi State University Alumni Association. Dr. Amburgey’s graduate students have made significant contributions to their chosen fields of employment. Terry was a long time member of the IRG, the first of several IRG meetings he attended was IRG11 in 1980.

Terry is survived by his daughter Lauren Shurden and her husband Donald of Oak Grove, Mississippi, and his sister Narice Moore. One of his greatest joys was being “PopPop” to his grandson Joshua Ryan Shurden. He was preceded in death by his daughter Danielle Marie Parker, his parents, and his brother Bart Amburgey. The family expressed special thanks to his caregiver and friend, Shirley Long.

This Memorial was originally written for inclusion with the April 2022 IRG Newsletter.