Gilbert “Gil” Farnham, 83 of Sun City, Huntley, passed away Monday evening, May 23, 2016 at Journeycare Hospice in Woodstock after a lengthy illness.
He was born May 22, 1933 in Freeport, Illinois, the son of Benjamin and Mattie (Cosner) Farnham. He graduated from Freeport High School in 1952 and then served in the United States Army in Germany during the Korean Conflict. In 1957 he was united in marriage to Patricia “Pat” Jensen. He graduated from Illinois State Normal Teachers College (NIU) in 1959. Gilbert taught general science in Galesburg and later taught Biology in Sycamore at the high school. He later worked for Turner-Cleanweld Industries in Sycamore. He was one of the designers of the 1984 Olympic Torch and traveled at the beginning of the Olympic Torch Run. He was there for the lighting of the cauldron, illness prevented him from going on to Los Angeles for the completion. Retiring in 1999, the couple moved to the new Sun City in Huntley in 2000. He was a member of the Huntley American Legion, Sun City Lions, and before moving from Sycamore, a member of St. Mary’s Church for many years, serving as lector. He served on the Board of the Sycamore Credit Union and was a member of the DeKalb County Management Club. Gil faced many health challenges over 30 years with courage and strength. If a friend needed help he was there. He acquired many skills over the years and could fix almost anything.
He is survived by his wife Patricia “Pat” of Huntley, his children, Tess Farnham of Belleville, Illinois, Michael (Kathie) Farnham of Portland, Oregon, Julene (Mike) Diaz of DeKalb and Mark (Heather) Farnham of Northbrook, his grandchildren, David, Kristen, Kimberly, Alex, Connor, Hannah, Sophie and Ben. Great-grandchildren, Alexa, McKenzie, Miles, Sebastian and Lucas. His sister, Beverly Stichter of Freeport. He was preceded in death by his parents and his sister, Shirley.
A memorial gathering will be held from 11:00 a.m. until the time of the 1:00 p.m. Memorial Service on Saturday, June 4th at the DeFiore-Jorgensen Funeral & Cremation Service, 10763 Dundee Road, Huntley.
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My condolences to Gils family and friends on his passing. I knew Gil when we were growing up in Freeport. He and his family were quality people that reached out and helped me when I needed it most. I still remember the fun times we had riding around Freeport on his Whizzer gas powered bicycle and how careful he was when he drove his dads new Olds 88. He was a quality guy.
Condolences to Gils family on their loss. I worked with Gil at Cooper Hand Tool Turner up to the time he retired. I always valued his friendship, his honesty and his can do attitude. Gil was a key influence on the success we had during our time together at Cooper.