Town loses longtime town board member
By Steve Herring
Published in News on February 26, 2015 1:46 PM
MOUNT OLIVE -- Town Commissioner George Allen Fulghum, 45, died Tuesday at Duke University Hospital following a period of declining health.
Fulghum was a person who could be counted on to make sure things got done, said Julie Beck, president of the Mount Olive Area Chamber of Commerce.
"I worked with George some in parks and recreation and with Friends of the Parks kind of stuff when he poured concrete for us," Ms. Beck said. "George was a person that you could count on. If you asked him to do something, it got done, and it got done right. George was definitely a community-focused man.
"He truly cared, particularly about children. He would do whatever he could to make sure they had what they needed. He didn't hesitate to reach into his own pocket or do what he had to do make sure the project got done."
Fulghum will be "sorely missed," she said.
"He was a good Christian man and always had a funny story or laugh or something hilarious to tell you," she said. "He was just a good-natured guy."
A funeral service will be held Saturday at 2 p.m. at the Mount Olive Presbyterian Church, where he was a member. Visitation will follow the service.
Burial will be Sunday at 3 p.m. in Maplewood Cemetery. Tyndall Funeral Home is in charge of the services.
Fulghum is survived by his wife, Lynne Johnson Fulghum, and their daughter, Georgia Lynne, of the home.
In lieu of flowers, memorials may be made to the Mount Olive Presbyterian Church, Box 158, Mount Olive, N.C., 28365 or to the P.R. Tisch Brain Tumor Center, Duke Hospital, DUMC Box 3624, Durham, N.C., 27710.
The owner and operator of Concrete Specialties, Fulghum was diagnosed with glioblastoma (a form of brain tumor) in August 2014 and since then he has undergone three brain surgeries, a course of chemotherapy and radiation.
Fulghum was an avid boater and water sportsman and enjoyed cooking. He was instrumental in the founding of the Mount Olive Community Garden.
Fulghum was a graduate of Southern Wayne High School, attended UNC at Wilmington, and N.C. State University, and had completed the marine technical program.
He represented District 3 on the town board and was completing his third two-year term having first been elected in 2009.
He was serving as mayor pro tempore.
Fulghum had previously served on the town Planning Board.
"I guess people do different things for different reasons, but George ran for the board simply because he loved the Mount Olive community and wanted to do everything that he could to help that community," Town Manager Charles Brown said. "There was no pretense on his part. He was what you saw.
"He had the best interest of this community at heart, the best interest of the people of this community at heart, and that is why he ran for the town board. That was just the way he looked at things."
Brown joked that no one ever had a short conversation with the talkative and friendly Fulghum.
"I will certainly miss that because he and I used to stand and talk for hours on end," Brown said. "He had his heart in the right place. He was doing what he was doing for exactly the right reasons.
"If more people in this country that held elected office did it for the reasons that George did, we would all be better for it."
Along with serving on the town board, Fulghum helped build the football field behind the former Carver High School for the Hurricanes youth football program.
"We built a shelter over at Nelson Street Park, and he came over, took his time and worked on that to get the slab smoothed out and level for that," Brown said. "He never ceased to help anybody when he could reach out if there was a need in the community.
"He was very instrumental in getting that community garden set up. That was kind of one of his pet projects. He has done amazing things for this community and or all of the right reasons."
The town board is scheduled to meet Monday night.