Robert 'Bob' Shurte, Bob Shurte & Associates
By Furniture Today Staff -- Furniture Today, July 9, 2007
Northglenn, Colo. — Robert E. "Bob" Shurte, president of furniture brokerage firm Bob Shurte & Associates, has died of a rare form of cancer, multiple myeloma. Still working, he would have been 79 on his birthday in October, which he usually celebrated in High Point.
Shurte began his career in furniture sales in the 1970s with distributor William Volker Co. in Denver, working the Rocky Mountain territory.
When Volker went out of business in the 1980s, Shurte became an independent rep with lines such as Thunderbird Furniture and Harris of Pendleton. He became an American oak specialist and eventually sold a group of "entirely U.S.-made" product including Oakwood Interiors, Haugen Desk, Teena Ironworks, Null and Conestoga.
Shurte joined Hekman and Woodmark Furniture with his business partner, Sally Simerson, in 2002. They won sales team of the year with Hekman/Woodmark for 2004. He diversified and began representing lines including Our House Designs, Old World Stone & Iron and Raquel's Collection.
Shurte was a member of North Suburban Sales Pros and was a decorated veteran of the Korean War, where he served in the Chosin Reservoir campaign.
He is survived by his wife, two sons, a daughter, two sisters, a grandson and a great-grandson.
Memorial donations may be made to The Cleveland Clinic Foundation, 9500 Euclid Ave., Cleveland, Ohio 44195.
An avid runner, Shurte also had another favorite charity, Shoes for Africa, which sends worn running shoes to children around the world. In Shurte's honor, Hekman will set up a donation box for shoes at the Las Vegas Market, space A-635. Cash donations may also be made to Shoes for Africa, c/o Boulder Running Co., 2775 Pearl St. #103, Boulder, Colo. 80302.
