Life

Arthur Furst had a difficult upbringing with much rejection and isolation. Arthur Furst was born in Minneapolis, Minnesota, USA to Russian immigrant parents on Christmas Day, December 25th 1915. He was a first generation American, and his family did not speak English. At age four, tragedy stuck when both his parents died in the same week during the 1918 Influenza epidemic. He and his older Sister Yetta and brother Harold were cared for by family members. Arthur’s grandmother, the matriarch of the family, decided all three kids could not be taken in. Arthur was left alone and not reunited with his siblings until adulthood. Eventually Arthur was taken in by an aunt and uncle in Los Angeles, California, sometime before fifth grade.

In elementary and junior high school he had an unusually high IQ, yet his family discouraged him from going to college because his intelligence did not seem to fit into the norm. He did very well in high school, yet was conflicted about whether or not to take his education any further. Thankfully Arthur had a history teacher who saw his potential and encouraged him to pursue college. His Aunt and Uncle, however, were not as enthusiastic about this decision and gave no financial help to the boy who now had hopes for the future. Through hard work and determination, he paid his own way through college.

In 1940, Arthur Furst married fellow UCLA alumnus Florence Wolovitch. The happy couple started a family right away. Although Arthur may not have always had a loving support system growing up, he made sure that this would not be the case for his four beautiful children – Carolyn, adrianne, David, and Timothy. As a family, they were always there for one another. His family has since expanded with his children marrying, and adding grandchildren and great-grandchildren.

Tragically, Florence passed away in a fatal car accident. Soon afterwards, Arthur set up the Stanford Health Library in memory of his loving wife, Florence. The Florence Furst memorial fund enables the health library to support its mission of providing scientifically based health information to the community.

When Arthur Furst entered UCLA, he was unsure of what major to choose. He always liked rhythm and dance, so he became a member of the modern dance group. He even thought about becoming a professional dancer, but reconsidered after some doubts about whether or not he had the talent needed to excel. Arthur eventually declared Chemistry as his major. Also realizing that modern dance was not considered a very macho pastime, he turned to collegiate wrestling as a physical outlet and extracurricular activity.

About that time, he got involved in a form of gymnastics called “Swinging Clubs.” This dying art required continuously swinging large one-and-a-half pound clubs around the body without ever touching each other or leaving the hand. Arthur became quite skilled at it and ranked fourth in the nation. He even qualified for the 1932 Olympic team, but could not go because the event was discontinued before the games started.

Arthur Furst set his sights on becoming a teacher, professor, and researcher. He continued to study cancer treatment and its causes. He was always interested in areas that were not widely studied, uncovering many mysteries of the human body.