Burial Date
Obituaries » IRVING A. FARRAR
FARRAR, IRVING ARTHUR, 83, of Barre, passed away peacefully on August 30, at Fletcher Allen Health Care. The memorial service was held in Wilson Cemetery in Barre on November 9, presided over by Larry Pryor and Bruce Judd of Hooker and Whitcomb Funeral Home. Following was a celebration of Irv’s life held at the Quarry Restaurant in Barre. Irving was born on October 2, 1929, in Barre, the only child of Beulah Bates and Arthur Benjamin Farrar. Irv graduated from Spaulding High School in 1947 and after earning his B.A. at Middlebury College, went on to earn his MBA in 1955 at Babson College in Wellesley, Mass., and accepted his first job in budgeting with Lukens Steel in Pennsylvania. Irv raised his three daughters with his former wife, Rose Black, residing in Westford, Mass., from 1959 to 1974. He spent the majority of his career working for Raytheon. He furthered his education in the Raytheon Advanced Management Program. He worked for the Lowell plant, from the missile systems division to corporate as they purchased the microwave and power tube division of Westinghouse, to financial planning of new products and growing the medical electronics operation in Waltham, Mass. After his years living in Massachusetts, he went on to head accounting and finance positions in the northern New England paper and wood industry. In retirement, he resided in Arkansas, West Virginia and Washington, and just in January 2013, made his last move back to his home and most beloved state, Vermont. Irving enjoyed sports, especially skiing and golf. He also enjoyed music and played the piano, clarinet and saxophone. Irv was a Mason, as were his father and grandfathers before him. He served in the U.S. Army during the Korean War, stationed in Germany, with an honorable discharge in 1953. Irv loved to travel, especially to England, where he visited the UK at least 15 different times. Irv was known for his acute mind, his love of life and relaxed ways and will be remembered with love always by his family: daughters Nancy Farrar-Coughlin of Kirkland, Wash., Elizabeth Thompson of Potomac Falls, Va., and Susan Farrar of Sammamish, Wash.; and his five grandchildren.
