Obituary of Reverend Maurice Farr

Maurice Emil Farr, 87, of Washington, New Jersey passed away on Tuesday, March 27, 2012 at Warren Haven Nursing Home, Mansfield Township, NJ. He was born August 12, 1924 in Conakry, French West Africa (now Guinea) of missionary parents, Laurence McPherson Farr and Nellie Pollitt. There are three sisters: Lois Rowe of Culpeper, VA, Nell Farr, and Anna Melvin, both of Elk Grove, CA. Maurice served with the US Army from 1943 to 1946. His facility with French resulted in assignments as an interpreter in wartime Normandy and he cherished a lifelong friendship with the Laquerriere family from those years. After his honorable discharge in 1946, Maurice attended Westmont College in Santa Barbara, California, graduating in 1949 with a B.A. in Bible. He earned a pilot's license as a member of the Westmont Flying Club, and used his newly acquired skill to fly to Santa Maria regularly during 1949, where he served as pastor to Neisei youth in a Japanese Presbyterian church. He received an M. Div. in1952 from Gordon-Conwell Theological Seminary, Beverly Farms, Massachusetts and a Th.M. in Pastoral Theology from Princeton Theological Seminary in 1971. Maurice married Verna Erickson Farr in 1951. There are three children: John of Belvidere, NJ, Cheryl of Walnut Creek, CA and Joel of Trumbull, CT. The grandchildren are Brian and Julie Fischer in Californiaand Cathrine, Lauren and Karalyn Farr in CT. For more than 50 years, Maurice served as pastor to congregations in Champlain, Kiskiminetas, Newark and Newton Presbyteries, more recently as Associate Pastor for six years at First Presbyterian in Caldwell, NJ and twenty two years as Pastor of First Presbyterian in Washington, NJ. He was elected Moderator of two Presbyteries and, over the years, had served on nearly every Presbytery committee. Maurice's community outreach activities included participating in interfaith programs, representing the clergy on nonprofit boards, and serving as a hospital and nursing home chaplain. He was a founding member and chairperson of Warren County Hospice, and was actively involved in the merger with Sussex County Hospice that resulted in the 1986 establishment of the Karen Ann Quinlan Center of Hope Hospice. He was a long-time trustee for the organization. A Memorial service will be held in the First Presbyterian Church of Washington, NJ at a future date. Memorial donations may be made to: Karen Ann Quinlan Memorial Foundation, 99 Sparta Avenue, Newton, NJ 07860 or Princeton Theological Seminary Scholarship Fund, 64 Mercer Street, Princeton, N. J. 08542.