November 1st, 1923 – October 10th, 2008
Edsel Farris lived life passionately. His first love was airplanes. He knew at an early age that he wanted to be an aeronautical engineer—as he said, even before he could spell it. At one point he had so many model planes affixed to his bedroom ceiling that the whole thing collapsed. In high school he saved his school milk money to buy 30-minute flight lessons at a local airfield. With a characteristic eye for detail and penchant for planning, he pursued his aeronautical engineering degree at the University of Washington because it had one of the best wind tunnels in the country. He went on to earn his Masters at Cranfield University in England, and later attended the Oakridge (Tennessee) School of Reactor Technology.
In his 36 years at Boeing, he worked primarily for the Vice President of Research and Development. He helped design many projects including the SST and 747, and worked at the Development Center and Wind Tunnel on jet propulsion technology.
Edsel’s second and greatest love was Margaret Bown. They married in 1953, and together they designed and built their home on Vashon Island, where they raised their family and lived for 32 years. Among his many other interests, he enjoyed singing in the church choir and the Madrigals, and was active in the Democratic party—reaching the high point of being elected to attend the 1980 Democratic Convention as a delegate for Jimmy Carter. True to his engineering spirit, he rebuilt the family VW bug 3 times, kept the pump house operational, repaired neighbors plumbing, maintained the family home and 7 acres in pristine condition, kept the communal driveway graded and free of potholes, and trimmed the trees and cut and stacked the wood according to complex rules of size, width and length!
Edsel was a complex, multi-talented individual and a serious intellectual, a liberal and independent thinker. He had a keen interest in understanding how everything works, to which end he was a voracious reader of non-fiction. At the same time, he was down-to-earth, and didn’t hesitate to help a neighbor in need. His often gruff exterior belied a generous and tender heart. He could be quick to anger, but was equally quick to laughter and tears.
During the summer of 1981, he was given a choice of continuing his work at Boeing on either the B-1 bomber or the MX missile system. Instead, he took several months of accrued vacation and struggled with the decision. His conscience told him that both were fundamentally wrong, and at the end of his vacation, he walked his talk–retiring early from Boeing at the age of 57.
After retirement, Edsel and Margaret embarked on a series of travel adventures, such as rafting on the Colorado River for several days, a genealogy expedition in England, floating down the Rhone River, going into parts of China where Westerners had never been seen, visiting Mexico, India, Germany–and developing many lasting friendships world-wide.
Edsel is survived by his wife Margaret, currently of Ritzville, WA; children and spouses, Jim (and Kay Arthur-Farris), Phil, and Margaret Anne (and Richard Funge); grandchildren, Jessica, Joshua, Megan, Tal and Ericka; and great-grandchildren, Alesha, Joleesha, Taliah and Faith.
(paid obituary)
