Sunday, July 14, 2002
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Sunday, July 14, 2002 |
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Tom Farr dead at 60 Noted business, civic leader in Peachtree City
By SALLIE
SATTERTHWAITE
Thomas E. Farr, 60 honored leader in the Fayette County business community, executive vice-president and chief operating officer of Peachtree National Bank, elder at First Presbyterian Church in Peachtree City, Rotarian died at his home Wednesday, apparently of natural causes. Peachtree City Public Information Officer Betsy Tyler said flags on city property have been lowered to half-staff and will remain that way until sunset Saturday. "He's been an outstanding citizen in our city for years. He served 17 years on the Development Authority," Tyler said. The funeral service will be 11 a.m. Saturday, July 13, at the First Presbyterian Church of Peachtree City. Complete arrangements and survivors follow in this story. Farr and his father, W.F. Farr, better known as Floy, represent generations of movers and shakers in the Fayette community. The family, planted in Georgia by James Oglethorpe, shows up on the oldest Fayette tax records and in the Army of the Confederacy. In a 2000 interview, Floy Farr said his son Tom was born "in the back of the doctor's office in Fayetteville." He was raised in Tyrone where the elder Farr, a banker, virtually presided over the business community and helped fund the establishment of Peachtree City. Tom Farr graduated from Fayette County High School and from the University of Georgia. He earned his master's degree at Georgia State. Executive vice president and chief operating officer of Peachtree National Bank, Farr was well-known for his work on local authorities. He was past-chair of the Peachtree City Development Authority and chair of the Fayette Community Hospital Authority, and past vice-chair of Fayette County's Development Authority. He also served the Fayette County Chamber of Commerce as treasurer and was elected the chamber's Fayette County Business Person of 1994. He was a graduate of the Regional Leadership Institute. Fellow employees of Peachtree National honored him with the designation of Employee of the Year for 2001. He was with the bank since September, 1994, and was on its board of directors when he died. Bank president Ronald Duffey described him as a godsend who did all the analyzing of the numbers and oversaw financial information in the running of the bank, but was so much more. "He was the single most honest and dependable person I've ever known," Duffey said. "We were a team; we thought so much alike. I'll never, never be able to replace him. He's the only person I've ever let speak for me. I never once second-guessed anything he did." Farr's close friend and colleague, Fayette Realtor Jim Fulton, said Farr was "the last guy to want recognition ... When Tom took over [leadership of] the development authority, we built and ran the [Frederick Brown, Jr.] amphitheater and the tennis center. Everything he did was from the heart and for the good of the community and not for public recognition. "He's the perfect example of the servant-leader," Fulton continued. "Just say that he was a great friend, and many of the businesses of Peachtree City owe their existence to him. If you stuck your head in his office to say hello, you'd come out an hour later he never too busy to talk to you." Farr is survived by his wife, Wendy Y. Farr, and children, Matthew Wood and Whitley Wood, and his parents, Floy and Bruce Farr, all of Peachtree City; and his brother and sister-in-law, Sonny and Pat Farr, of Santa Fe, N.M. The funeral will be tomorrow (Saturday) at 11 a.m. at his church on Willowbend Road in Peachtree City. The Rev. Dr. Don Smith will lead the service, which will include tributes by Joel Cowan, former Mayor Robert Lenox, and Sonny Farr. The body will lie in state from 10 a.m. until 11 a.m. at the church. Visitation is this evening (Friday), 6 to 8 p.m., at Mowell Funeral Home on Robinson Road in Peachtree City, and interment will be at Westminster Memorial Gardens. Memorial contributions may be directed to the Fayette Community Foundation, P.O. Box 2594, Peachtree City, or to the giver's favorite charity.
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