Billy Ted Furnish, 92, was born in Olive Hill, KY, raised in Lexington, KY, and died in Louisville, KY, on September 7, 2022. He was preceded in death by his mother, Bernice Jewell Pelfrey Furnish, his father, Everett Roscoe “Dutch” Furnish, and his beloved wife, Ruth Elva Moore Furnish.

Billy Ted attended Henry Clay High School and received a B.A. from the University of Kentucky, and an
M.A. from Eastern Kentucky University. He served in the US Army at the K-9 Air Force Base during the Korean War.

Billy Ted got his start in journalism as a news writer for WAVE-FM in Louisville. He was also a stringer for NBC Monitor Radio and WBLG Lexington (now WTVQ). He was the news director for WEKU-FM in the early 1970s, where he also produced and moderated the Kentucky Roundtable radio program.

Billy Ted also worked for the Kentucky state government for a time as the State Public Information Director and later as the Information Director for the State Department of Education. He was a proud member and former president of the KY Corps of Longriflemen as well as a lifetime member of the KY Historical Society.

An avid outdoorsman and dog lover, Billy Ted was observant with an easy laugh. At the end of his life, Billy liked to say, “I’ve accomplished everything I set out to accomplish, and I’ve been everywhere I wanted to go.” He will be missed by those who knew him.

A graveside service with military honors will be Friday, September 16, 2022, at 11 am at Camp Nelson in
Nicholasville, KY. Memorial gifts may be made to WEKU Radio or Hosparus Health.