Paul Farris

Paul L. Farris, 93, of West Lafayette, died on January 10, 2013.Dr. Farris was born November 10, 1919, near Vincennes, Indiana, to James D. and Fairy J. Farris. He married Rachel Rutherford on August 16, 1953, in Springport, Indiana, and resided in West Lafayette.He was a faculty member in Agricultural Economics at Purdue University from 1952 to 1990, serving as Department Head from 1973 to 1982. He was a principal graduate teacher, researcher and supervisor of graduate students in agricultural marketing, prices and policy, serving as major professor for more than 25 Ph.D. and 15 M.S. students and member of the advisory committee for over 100 other graduate students. He published with others more than 100 research-oriented publications and was the editor of two books on agricultural marketing research. He was elected a Fellow of the American Agricultural Economics Association in 1988.He was raised on a family farm near Vincennes and graduated from Decker High School in 1936. He worked on the family farm during the Depression years. He was inducted into the Army in September 1941 and served until December 1945. He initially was assigned to Riverside and Oakland, California, and then was accepted into Air Force Administrative Officers Candidate School at Miami Beach, Florida, graduating as a Second Lieutenant in April 1943. He served in Chicago and Sioux Falls, South Dakota, and was promoted to First Lieutenant in April 1944, before being assigned to the India China Division of the Air Transport Command, located in Tezpur, India. He was promoted to Captain in February 1945, and helped to open an air base in Luhsien, China, before WWII ended.Following military service, he earned the B.S.A. from Purdue in 1949, M.S. from University of Illinois in 1950, and Ph.D. from Harvard University in 1954.Survivors are his wife, Rachel; his daughter, Nancy R. Harvey (husband Douglas), of New Palestine, Indiana; and three sons: Paul J. Farris (wife Patty), of Ellensburg, WA; John L. Farris (wife, Julie), of State College, PA, and Carl S. Farris (wife Darlene) of Danvers, MA. Grandchildren are Monica, Colleen, Brian and Benjamin Harvey of New Palestine, IN; Taylor, Mariah, Rachel and Amanda Farris of Ellensburg, WA; Jacob, Joseph and Anna Farris of State College, PA, and Adam and Madeleine Farris of Danvers, MA. Also surviving are a brother, Joseph W. Farris of Vincennes, IN, and sisters Carolyn L. Kelsey of Indianapolis, IN, and Dorothy C. Rae of Chicago, IL. Another brother, J. Earl Farris of Vincennes, IN, preceded him in death. Services will be conducted at 11 a.m. on Tuesday, January 15, at Community United Methodist Church, 1548 South Hart Street Road, Vincennes, IN, with calling beginning at 10 a.m. Burial will follow at Memorial Park Cemetery in Vincennes.