Thomas Farewell passed away on July 13, 2018, at the age of 73. He was born on September 11, 1944, in Roanoke, Virginia, to parents Margaret and Eugene Farewell. At age 19, his father was killed in WWII, and Tom spent his growing-up years in Salem, Virginia, with mother, stepfather Roy Franklin and four younger brothers – David, Steven, Larry and Richard Franklin.
He graduated at the top of his class from Salem High School at age 17 and won a national appointment to the US Military Academy at West Point, graduating in June 1966 with a BS degree. He then entered active duty as an officer in the US Army Corps of Engineers. He spent 26 years in the military, moving 22 times to posts throughout the world. His most demanding assignments were as a combat engineer company commander in Vietnam, District Engineer of the Ohio River Valley District and at the Pentagon to streamline the Army budget.
He received a Master’s Degree and Ph.D. from the University of Illinois in Civil Engineering and was invited to teach at West Point, where he actually finished his doctorate while teaching. Upon retirement in July 1992 as a colonel, he moved with his wife, Lucille, to Hawaii.
His immediate family consists of three children, Susan McGregor, Steven Farewell and Joanne Koch; three step-daughters, Gayle Hughes, Jodie Bouvery and Susan Cable; and 14 grandchildren.
As a civilian, he was first VP of a Hawaii engineering firm, then President of Oceanic Institute at Makapuu Point, before serving as corporate VP of International Research for Dole Food Company until he retired. He will be interred at a later date in Arlington National Cemetery, with full military honors. His fellow competitive canoe paddlers from Kailua and Lanikai Clubs will have a Paddle Out on August 20 to honor him.
