Frank S. Eways Sr.
We regret to announce that our patriarch, Frank S. Eways Sr. passed away from natural causes on September 12, 2019, surrounded by his loving family.
After his father, Salem Eways and founder of the Eways Rugs business passed away in the late 1960s, Frank Eways Sr., at the time a State Trooper in Pennsylvania, gave up his law enforcement career to carry the torch.
He eventually moved the business to Emmet Street in Charlottesville, Virginia, across from Bodo’s Bagels. There, he grew the business to one of the largest sellers of oriental rugs in the United States and became a leader in the industry.
Frank Eways Sr. would serve two terms as President of the Oriental Rug Retailers of America (ORRA), was an expert witness for the FBI and appeared on the Today Show with Bryant Gumbel for initiating a marking system used by the FBI to identify lost or stolen oriental rugs.
He also appeared on ABC Prime Time Show with Chris Wallace, was interviewed by Barbara Walters for the program 20/20 and was inducted in the Oriental Rug Retailers Hall of Fame in Los Angeles.
After suffering a series of strokes over the past few years, Frank Sr. passed the torch to his son, Frank Jr. who worked with him to grow the business in their current location in Ruckersville, VA.
The legacy that Frank S. Eways Sr. leaves behind for his community transcends his accomplishments in the rug industry.
He was beloved as a leader, a friend, and by his friends, customers (often the same), his community, and of course, by his family.
He lived larger than life, and we will miss his warm smile, his “dirty” jokes, his welcoming nature, and his desire to treat everyone he met like a lifelong friend.
