Dr. John Terry Poole

John Terry Poole was born on Oct. 4, 1937, in Washington DC. In 1959, John earned an undergraduate degree in mathematics from the University of North Carolina. For the next year he worked for NASA in the satellite tracking division. He then pursued a PhD in mathematics at the University of Maryland, which he earned in 1964. From 1964 to 1969, he worked as a professor of mathematics at Florida State University and Clemson University, where he taught undergraduate and graduate courses in mathematics. In 1969, John accepted a position at Furman University. He was a member of the mathematics department there for the next 43 years, finally retiring in 2012. During the last half of his tenure at Furman John became interested in the history of mathematics and history in general. That interest led him to develop the material taught in Ideas in Mathematics, a course that aimed to pique the interest of non-math and science majors and make the subject accessible to all students. During this time, John also spent several years creating a website which presents Books One through Four of Euclid’s The Elements. Euclid’s Elements is one of the most influential mathematics books ever written. On John’s website the reader can click through the propositions and see the mathematics and logic without having to slog through the prose of the original book. His website can be found here: http://math.furman.edu/~jpoole/euclidselements/euclid.htm From the mid-1990’s until the end of his teaching career, John also pursued an interest in languages. He took multiple trips to Ecuador, Costa Rica and Mexico to study Spanish, and he audited courses in ancient Greek at Furman. Professionally, he combined his interests in Euclid and the Greek language by coteaching portions of a mid-level Greek course in which students read portions of Euclid’s Elements in the original Greek. John also enjoyed cycling and regularly spent long hours riding the back roads of Greenville County. He took several trips to the Blue Ridge Parkway and Skyline Drive where he rode the entire length of both roads. Four times, he competed in the Assault on Mount Mitchell, a road bicycle race with a length of 100 miles and 5000 feet of vertical gain. He regularly rode in the 10-mile time trials at Donaldson Center in southern Greenville County. He eventually logged times fast enough to qualify for national time trial competitions in which he competed and finished in the top ten in his age group. He was very proud of these cycling achievements. John was also an avid supporter of the performing arts. He was a long-time audience member at the Furman Theater and the Greenville Symphony. In retirement he made generous financial contributions to the Furman Theater Arts Department. John is survived by his wife, Sarah Joan Moyer-Poole, his two children, Sydney Poole Funk and Jason Andrew Poole, and his three grandchildren, Soren, Kai and Rory Poole. John pursued the things that he loved with as much effort as he could, for as long as he could. It was a life well lived. He will be missed. The family will receive friends from 2:00 p.m. until 3:00 p.m. Sunday, September 1, 2024 at The Howze Mortuary. In lieu of flowers, memorials may be made to the John Terry Poole and Sarah Joan Moyer-Poole Furman Theater Endowment Fund, 3300 Poinsett Hwy., Greenville, SC 29613, or the Greenville Symphony, 200 S. Main St., Greenville, SC 29601. The Howze Mortuary, Travelers Rest is in charge of arrangements. (864) 834-8051.

Dr. John Terry Poole

October 4, 1937 - August 3, 2024