Gresham Talmadge Farrar, Jr. (aka "Tal") was born in the middle of "The Great Depression" as a member of the "Silent Generation". This generation was comparatively small due to the world-wide financial disaster discouraging people from having large families they could not feed.
Tal's teenage parents met as students while attending Woodlawn High School in Birmingham, AL, eloped and were married on 31 Oct 1931 in Pensacola, FL. They lived in the East Lake section of Birmingham, AL in the residence of Tal's mother's parents from 1931-1938 only a few city blocks from the residence of his paternal grandparents. Tal was born on 16 Nov 1934 in the home of his Chappell grandparents and was delivered by his fraternal grandfather, Dr. William Charles Farrar, Sr, M. D.. An acrimonious 1938 divorce of his parents resulted in he and his mother continuing to live in the household of his paternal grandparents, John Mathis Chappell and Zora Belle (Turner) Chappell. He and his mother were "deliberately" mis-enumerated in the 1940 US Census of Birmingham, AL under the incorrect surname of "Chappell", his mother's maiden name. Tal's aunt, his mother's sister, Sue (Chappell) Petty who lived next door was the 1940 US Census informant for both households. Normally, Tal's mother, Jonnie, would have been listed as "daughter" in her parent's household under her married name "Farrar" with the designation of "Div or "D" (Divorced) but she was recorded under her maiden name "Chappell". Tal should have have been recorded as Gresham Talmadge Farrar, Jr, "grandson" of John Mathis Chappell but he was enumerated as Talmadge G. Chappell, "son" of John Mathis Chappell. In the 1930s in the "Deep South" divorce carried a major stigma and was so embarrassing many divorced women tried to disguise it on their census records by claiming they were "widows" or as in this case another guise was used. An example of this "widow" ploy was recently broadcast, 26 Feb 2019, on the PBS genealogy series, "Finding Your Roots" hosted by Henry Louis Gates, Jr., Season 5, Program 8, Episode S05 E08 "Hard Times". One of the three featured people on the show was the actress, Laura Linney, one my favorites. It involved her divorced maternal great grandmother, Ruth Sallie (Collins) Leggett, who not only listed herself as a "widow" in the 1930 census but moved from the "very small" town of Nicholls, Coffee Co., Georgia to Eustis, Lake Co., Florida to avoid the stigma of divorce. Her husband, Milton Mitchell Leggett, according to his death certificate, died on 21 Jun 1962 at Jacksonville, Duval Co., Florida.
Tal was enrolled in Robinson Elementary School in the East Lake section of Birmingham, Jefferson Co., AL in January 1940 prior to the 07 Dec 1941 WWII Japanese sneak attack on Pearl Harbor, Hawaii. The times were already stressful for all Americans during the world wide "Great Depression" and on the home front following the beginning of WWII the nation's children were especially under great stress as many of their fathers were called into the armed services. WWII was the only thing that brought the USA out of the "Great Depression". None of myriad programs designed to produce relief, recovery, and reform instituted by POTUS Franklin Delano Roosevelt in his "New Deal" moved the country out of the financial disaster. Another little known and/or acknowledged fact was that when saying the daily morning pledge of allegiance to our great flag in our schools' classrooms prior to WWII we saluted the flag using what was termed the "The Bellamy Salute" based on the ancient Roman salute with one stiff arm outstretched toward the flag. In the early 1940s, it was noticed that this salute bore a resemblance to a certain other salute being used in Germany at the time (which was also based off of the same original Roman salute). As a result, it was formally replaced by Congress with the now-customary hand-on-heart during the pledge. Each school and each student enthusiastically showed their patriotism by collecting and bringing to the school various materials useful for the war effort, e. g. paper drives, scrap metal drives, rubber dives, grease drives. One incidence made the students of Robinson School very proud: the Army brought a Jeep to the school one day in 1943 claiming we, the students, had collected enough money to buy it for the war effort. We were very proud and thrilled since each student got a short ride on the school grounds but looking back on it, I suspect it was a ploy to keep our efforts and our patriotism at a high level. Tal never had "any" relationship with his father as he totally abandoned his son after the 1938 divorce. Clarinet lessons and enthusiastic practice resulted in Tal becoming a very good amateur clarinet player. He became a member of the Robinson School orchestra but payed the price with the resulting malocclusion of his upper front teeth (buck Teeth) which had to be corrected by orthodontic treatment later.
Below is Gresham's obituary:
Dr. Gresham Talmadge Farrar, Jr., BS, MS, DMD, a descendant of William Farrar (I), a 1618 English emigrant to Jamestown, Virginia, died at home surrounded by family on February 4, 2021, from natural causes. Captain Farrar, a maxillo-facial surgeon retired from the United States Public Health Service (USPHS) in 1981 when the USPHS Hospital located at State and Tchoupitoulas Streets, NOLA was closed by President Reagan. He was born on November 16, 1934 at Birmingham, Alabama, in the middle of the “Great Depression”. He was preceded in death by his parents, Gresham Talmadge Farrar, Sr. and Jonnie Belle, (Chappell) Farrar and his beloved daughter, Debra Leigh (Farrar) Frueh(by his first wife ) and his beloved son, Gregory Wayne Farrar of Atlanta ( by his first wife). He is survived by Suzanne (Katz) Farrar, his wife, his love, his loyal supportive best friend of 44+ years, and their beloved son, Bryan Alan Farrar (Monica) of Covington, LA. Gresham is also survived by his much beloved wonderful children Cheryl Anne Ernst (John) of Atlanta and Leisa Kay Farrar of Gretna LA, by his first wife, Bertha Grace (Brown) Farrar and son in-law Doug Frueh. He is also survived by his granddaughters Jennifer Frueh Labrador (Miguel), Madison Ernst Mantle (Justin), Kaiya Lorraine Farrar, Talia Antoinette Farrar, grandson Caelan Quinn Farrar and great grandson Logan James Labrador. He is also brother-in -law to Jo Anne Katz Ehrhard (Sidney), uncle to Stephanie Ann Ehrhard, Stephen Gerard Ehrhard, Joseph Anthony Hurst, great uncle to Nicholas Edward Ehrhard (Shelby) and great great uncle to Piper Kate Ehrhard and Brooks Henry Ehrhard.
Dr. Farrar, an honor student, attended public schools in Birmingham, Alabama and graduated from Howard College (now Samford University) of Birmingham, Alabama. He graduated from the University Of Alabama School Of Dentistry in the class of 1959 followed by a 1959/1960 Dental Internship at the United States Public Health Service (USPHS) Hospital, NOLA. His first opportunity to practice general dentistry was in 1960/1962 at the Federal Prison in Petersburg, Virginia. He practiced general dentistry in 1963-1966 in Los Angeles and Memphis, TN while teaching part time at the USC Dental School and the University of Tennessee Dental School, respectively. His maxillo-facial surgical residency occurred at the New York University School of Dentistry located on Manhattan supplemented by clinical training at Bellevue Hospital on Manhattan and the 350 bed USPHS Hospital on Staten Island, NY. Following the completion of his residency, he moved back to NOLA in 1970 and was the in-house maxillo-facial surgeon at the USPHS Hospital, NOLA. During this period he taught part-time at the LSU School of Dentistry. Following the 1981 closure of the USPHS Hospital, NOLA, Dr. Farrar went into private practice in NOLA for a short period of time but was offered a job by Whittaker Corporation, an American company which furnished medical personnel to nine hospitals in Saudi Arabia. He and his wife, Suzanne, were hired to work at Khamīs Mushayṭ, located in the mountains of south western Saudi Arabia near Yemen. Their son, Bryan, was born there in 1982. On returning home from Saudi Arabia, Dr. Farrar retired permanently.
Gresham’s life was punctuated by a series of hobbies which included playing the clarinet in grammar school and high school (1940s-1950s); serious competitive table tennis in college; kayaking in the 1970s; a back packer and camper (to bottom Grand Canyon in 1970s for 5 days); golfer, 3 handicap, in 1970s-1990s; serious competitive Bridge competition; sky diver 1970s (50 jumps); a SCUBA diver and underwater photographer with 2500 open water dives worldwide and a published genealogist par excellence 1980s-to his death. He belonged to many organizations including but not limited to Order of Descendants of Ancient Planters 1606-1616, The Sons of the Revolution, Baronial Order of the Magna Charta, The Sons of the American Revolution, The Society of the War of 1812, The Society of Colonial Wars and The Jamestowne Society and he had an ongoing love affair with the Corvette, owning 10 over the years.
The family would like to give special thanks to Lakeside Hospice personnel; especially the caring and empathetic nurses, Leonard, Jaqueline, and Andrika. We would like to thank Dr. Orgotti for being compassionate and listening when listening is the most important part of treatment. We would like to thank the Chaplain, Walter and the Music Therapist, Carissa. They all brought a bit of joy to his life during these trying days.
Relatives and friends are invited to attend the Memorial Service on Saturday, March 6, 2021 at 11:00 a.m. at Munholland United Methodist Church, 1201 Metairie Rd., Metairie, LA 70005. Interment will follow in Lake Lawn Park Cemetery.
Due to current COVID guidelines, masks are required as well as social distancing for attendees.
The service will be live streamed through Munholland United Methodist Church at https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCqt8pOQbDRBI2Ecl0JVb_aQ
The family invites you to share your fond memories and condolences online at www.lakelawnmetairie.com
Tal's teenage parents met as students while attending Woodlawn High School in Birmingham, AL, eloped and were married on 31 Oct 1931 in Pensacola, FL. They lived in the East Lake section of Birmingham, AL in the residence of Tal's mother's parents from 1931-1938 only a few city blocks from the residence of his paternal grandparents. Tal was born on 16 Nov 1934 in the home of his Chappell grandparents and was delivered by his fraternal grandfather, Dr. William Charles Farrar, Sr, M. D.. An acrimonious 1938 divorce of his parents resulted in he and his mother continuing to live in the household of his paternal grandparents, John Mathis Chappell and Zora Belle (Turner) Chappell. He and his mother were "deliberately" mis-enumerated in the 1940 US Census of Birmingham, AL under the incorrect surname of "Chappell", his mother's maiden name. Tal's aunt, his mother's sister, Sue (Chappell) Petty who lived next door was the 1940 US Census informant for both households. Normally, Tal's mother, Jonnie, would have been listed as "daughter" in her parent's household under her married name "Farrar" with the designation of "Div or "D" (Divorced) but she was recorded under her maiden name "Chappell". Tal should have have been recorded as Gresham Talmadge Farrar, Jr, "grandson" of John Mathis Chappell but he was enumerated as Talmadge G. Chappell, "son" of John Mathis Chappell. In the 1930s in the "Deep South" divorce carried a major stigma and was so embarrassing many divorced women tried to disguise it on their census records by claiming they were "widows" or as in this case another guise was used. An example of this "widow" ploy was recently broadcast, 26 Feb 2019, on the PBS genealogy series, "Finding Your Roots" hosted by Henry Louis Gates, Jr., Season 5, Program 8, Episode S05 E08 "Hard Times". One of the three featured people on the show was the actress, Laura Linney, one my favorites. It involved her divorced maternal great grandmother, Ruth Sallie (Collins) Leggett, who not only listed herself as a "widow" in the 1930 census but moved from the "very small" town of Nicholls, Coffee Co., Georgia to Eustis, Lake Co., Florida to avoid the stigma of divorce. Her husband, Milton Mitchell Leggett, according to his death certificate, died on 21 Jun 1962 at Jacksonville, Duval Co., Florida.
Tal was enrolled in Robinson Elementary School in the East Lake section of Birmingham, Jefferson Co., AL in January 1940 prior to the 07 Dec 1941 WWII Japanese sneak attack on Pearl Harbor, Hawaii. The times were already stressful for all Americans during the world wide "Great Depression" and on the home front following the beginning of WWII the nation's children were especially under great stress as many of their fathers were called into the armed services. WWII was the only thing that brought the USA out of the "Great Depression". None of myriad programs designed to produce relief, recovery, and reform instituted by POTUS Franklin Delano Roosevelt in his "New Deal" moved the country out of the financial disaster. Another little known and/or acknowledged fact was that when saying the daily morning pledge of allegiance to our great flag in our schools' classrooms prior to WWII we saluted the flag using what was termed the "The Bellamy Salute" based on the ancient Roman salute with one stiff arm outstretched toward the flag. In the early 1940s, it was noticed that this salute bore a resemblance to a certain other salute being used in Germany at the time (which was also based off of the same original Roman salute). As a result, it was formally replaced by Congress with the now-customary hand-on-heart during the pledge. Each school and each student enthusiastically showed their patriotism by collecting and bringing to the school various materials useful for the war effort, e. g. paper drives, scrap metal drives, rubber dives, grease drives. One incidence made the students of Robinson School very proud: the Army brought a Jeep to the school one day in 1943 claiming we, the students, had collected enough money to buy it for the war effort. We were very proud and thrilled since each student got a short ride on the school grounds but looking back on it, I suspect it was a ploy to keep our efforts and our patriotism at a high level. Tal never had "any" relationship with his father as he totally abandoned his son after the 1938 divorce. Clarinet lessons and enthusiastic practice resulted in Tal becoming a very good amateur clarinet player. He became a member of the Robinson School orchestra but payed the price with the resulting malocclusion of his upper front teeth (buck Teeth) which had to be corrected by orthodontic treatment later.
Below is Gresham's obituary:
Dr. Gresham Talmadge Farrar, Jr., BS, MS, DMD, a descendant of William Farrar (I), a 1618 English emigrant to Jamestown, Virginia, died at home surrounded by family on February 4, 2021, from natural causes. Captain Farrar, a maxillo-facial surgeon retired from the United States Public Health Service (USPHS) in 1981 when the USPHS Hospital located at State and Tchoupitoulas Streets, NOLA was closed by President Reagan. He was born on November 16, 1934 at Birmingham, Alabama, in the middle of the “Great Depression”. He was preceded in death by his parents, Gresham Talmadge Farrar, Sr. and Jonnie Belle, (Chappell) Farrar and his beloved daughter, Debra Leigh (Farrar) Frueh(by his first wife ) and his beloved son, Gregory Wayne Farrar of Atlanta ( by his first wife). He is survived by Suzanne (Katz) Farrar, his wife, his love, his loyal supportive best friend of 44+ years, and their beloved son, Bryan Alan Farrar (Monica) of Covington, LA. Gresham is also survived by his much beloved wonderful children Cheryl Anne Ernst (John) of Atlanta and Leisa Kay Farrar of Gretna LA, by his first wife, Bertha Grace (Brown) Farrar and son in-law Doug Frueh. He is also survived by his granddaughters Jennifer Frueh Labrador (Miguel), Madison Ernst Mantle (Justin), Kaiya Lorraine Farrar, Talia Antoinette Farrar, grandson Caelan Quinn Farrar and great grandson Logan James Labrador. He is also brother-in -law to Jo Anne Katz Ehrhard (Sidney), uncle to Stephanie Ann Ehrhard, Stephen Gerard Ehrhard, Joseph Anthony Hurst, great uncle to Nicholas Edward Ehrhard (Shelby) and great great uncle to Piper Kate Ehrhard and Brooks Henry Ehrhard.
Dr. Farrar, an honor student, attended public schools in Birmingham, Alabama and graduated from Howard College (now Samford University) of Birmingham, Alabama. He graduated from the University Of Alabama School Of Dentistry in the class of 1959 followed by a 1959/1960 Dental Internship at the United States Public Health Service (USPHS) Hospital, NOLA. His first opportunity to practice general dentistry was in 1960/1962 at the Federal Prison in Petersburg, Virginia. He practiced general dentistry in 1963-1966 in Los Angeles and Memphis, TN while teaching part time at the USC Dental School and the University of Tennessee Dental School, respectively. His maxillo-facial surgical residency occurred at the New York University School of Dentistry located on Manhattan supplemented by clinical training at Bellevue Hospital on Manhattan and the 350 bed USPHS Hospital on Staten Island, NY. Following the completion of his residency, he moved back to NOLA in 1970 and was the in-house maxillo-facial surgeon at the USPHS Hospital, NOLA. During this period he taught part-time at the LSU School of Dentistry. Following the 1981 closure of the USPHS Hospital, NOLA, Dr. Farrar went into private practice in NOLA for a short period of time but was offered a job by Whittaker Corporation, an American company which furnished medical personnel to nine hospitals in Saudi Arabia. He and his wife, Suzanne, were hired to work at Khamīs Mushayṭ, located in the mountains of south western Saudi Arabia near Yemen. Their son, Bryan, was born there in 1982. On returning home from Saudi Arabia, Dr. Farrar retired permanently.
Gresham’s life was punctuated by a series of hobbies which included playing the clarinet in grammar school and high school (1940s-1950s); serious competitive table tennis in college; kayaking in the 1970s; a back packer and camper (to bottom Grand Canyon in 1970s for 5 days); golfer, 3 handicap, in 1970s-1990s; serious competitive Bridge competition; sky diver 1970s (50 jumps); a SCUBA diver and underwater photographer with 2500 open water dives worldwide and a published genealogist par excellence 1980s-to his death. He belonged to many organizations including but not limited to Order of Descendants of Ancient Planters 1606-1616, The Sons of the Revolution, Baronial Order of the Magna Charta, The Sons of the American Revolution, The Society of the War of 1812, The Society of Colonial Wars and The Jamestowne Society and he had an ongoing love affair with the Corvette, owning 10 over the years.
The family would like to give special thanks to Lakeside Hospice personnel; especially the caring and empathetic nurses, Leonard, Jaqueline, and Andrika. We would like to thank Dr. Orgotti for being compassionate and listening when listening is the most important part of treatment. We would like to thank the Chaplain, Walter and the Music Therapist, Carissa. They all brought a bit of joy to his life during these trying days.
Relatives and friends are invited to attend the Memorial Service on Saturday, March 6, 2021 at 11:00 a.m. at Munholland United Methodist Church, 1201 Metairie Rd., Metairie, LA 70005. Interment will follow in Lake Lawn Park Cemetery.
Due to current COVID guidelines, masks are required as well as social distancing for attendees.
The service will be live streamed through Munholland United Methodist Church at https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCqt8pOQbDRBI2Ecl0JVb_aQ
The family invites you to share your fond memories and condolences online at www.lakelawnmetairie.com
Gresham Talmadge Farrar, Jr. (aka "Tal") was born in the middle of "The Great Depression" as a member of the "Silent Generation". This generation was comparatively small due to the world-wide financial disaster discouraging people from having large families they could not feed.
Tal's teenage parents met as students while attending Woodlawn High School in Birmingham, AL, eloped and were married on 31 Oct 1931 in Pensacola, FL. They lived in the East Lake section of Birmingham, AL in the residence of Tal's mother's parents from 1931-1938 only a few city blocks from the residence of his paternal grandparents. Tal was born on 16 Nov 1934 in the home of his Chappell grandparents and was delivered by his fraternal grandfather, Dr. William Charles Farrar, Sr, M. D.. An acrimonious 1938 divorce of his parents resulted in he and his mother continuing to live in the household of his paternal grandparents, John Mathis Chappell and Zora Belle (Turner) Chappell. He and his mother were "deliberately" mis-enumerated in the 1940 US Census of Birmingham, AL under the incorrect surname of "Chappell", his mother's maiden name. Tal's aunt, his mother's sister, Sue (Chappell) Petty who lived next door was the 1940 US Census informant for both households. Normally, Tal's mother, Jonnie, would have been listed as "daughter" in her parent's household under her married name "Farrar" with the designation of "Div or "D" (Divorced) but she was recorded under her maiden name "Chappell". Tal should have have been recorded as Gresham Talmadge Farrar, Jr, "grandson" of John Mathis Chappell but he was enumerated as Talmadge G. Chappell, "son" of John Mathis Chappell. In the 1930s in the "Deep South" divorce carried a major stigma and was so embarrassing many divorced women tried to disguise it on their census records by claiming they were "widows" or as in this case another guise was used. An example of this "widow" ploy was recently broadcast, 26 Feb 2019, on the PBS genealogy series, "Finding Your Roots" hosted by Henry Louis Gates, Jr., Season 5, Program 8, Episode S05 E08 "Hard Times". One of the three featured people on the show was the actress, Laura Linney, one my favorites. It involved her divorced maternal great grandmother, Ruth Sallie (Collins) Leggett, who not only listed herself as a "widow" in the 1930 census but moved from the "very small" town of Nicholls, Coffee Co., Georgia to Eustis, Lake Co., Florida to avoid the stigma of divorce. Her husband, Milton Mitchell Leggett, according to his death certificate, died on 21 Jun 1962 at Jacksonville, Duval Co., Florida.
Tal was enrolled in Robinson Elementary School in the East Lake section of Birmingham, Jefferson Co., AL in January 1940 prior to the 07 Dec 1941 WWII Japanese sneak attack on Pearl Harbor, Hawaii. The times were already stressful for all Americans during the world wide "Great Depression" and on the home front following the beginning of WWII the nation's children were especially under great stress as many of their fathers were called into the armed services. WWII was the only thing that brought the USA out of the "Great Depression". None of myriad programs designed to produce relief, recovery, and reform instituted by POTUS Franklin Delano Roosevelt in his "New Deal" moved the country out of the financial disaster. Another little known and/or acknowledged fact was that when saying the daily morning pledge of allegiance to our great flag in our schools' classrooms prior to WWII we saluted the flag using what was termed the "The Bellamy Salute" based on the ancient Roman salute with one stiff arm outstretched toward the flag. In the early 1940s, it was noticed that this salute bore a resemblance to a certain other salute being used in Germany at the time (which was also based off of the same original Roman salute). As a result, it was formally replaced by Congress with the now-customary hand-on-heart during the pledge. Each school and each student enthusiastically showed their patriotism by collecting and bringing to the school various materials useful for the war effort, e. g. paper drives, scrap metal drives, rubber dives, grease drives. One incidence made the students of Robinson School very proud: the Army brought a Jeep to the school one day in 1943 claiming we, the students, had collected enough money to buy it for the war effort. We were very proud and thrilled since each student got a short ride on the school grounds but looking back on it, I suspect it was a ploy to keep our efforts and our patriotism at a high level. Tal never had "any" relationship with his father as he totally abandoned his son after the 1938 divorce. Clarinet lessons and enthusiastic practice resulted in Tal becoming a very good amateur clarinet player. He became a member of the Robinson School orchestra but payed the price with the resulting malocclusion of his upper front teeth (buck Teeth) which had to be corrected by orthodontic treatment later.
Below is Gresham's obituary:
Dr. Gresham Talmadge Farrar, Jr., BS, MS, DMD, a descendant of William Farrar (I), a 1618 English emigrant to Jamestown, Virginia, died at home surrounded by family on February 4, 2021, from natural causes. Captain Farrar, a maxillo-facial surgeon retired from the United States Public Health Service (USPHS) in 1981 when the USPHS Hospital located at State and Tchoupitoulas Streets, NOLA was closed by President Reagan. He was born on November 16, 1934 at Birmingham, Alabama, in the middle of the “Great Depression”. He was preceded in death by his parents, Gresham Talmadge Farrar, Sr. and Jonnie Belle, (Chappell) Farrar and his beloved daughter, Debra Leigh (Farrar) Frueh(by his first wife ) and his beloved son, Gregory Wayne Farrar of Atlanta ( by his first wife). He is survived by Suzanne (Katz) Farrar, his wife, his love, his loyal supportive best friend of 44+ years, and their beloved son, Bryan Alan Farrar (Monica) of Covington, LA. Gresham is also survived by his much beloved wonderful children Cheryl Anne Ernst (John) of Atlanta and Leisa Kay Farrar of Gretna LA, by his first wife, Bertha Grace (Brown) Farrar and son in-law Doug Frueh. He is also survived by his granddaughters Jennifer Frueh Labrador (Miguel), Madison Ernst Mantle (Justin), Kaiya Lorraine Farrar, Talia Antoinette Farrar, grandson Caelan Quinn Farrar and great grandson Logan James Labrador. He is also brother-in -law to Jo Anne Katz Ehrhard (Sidney), uncle to Stephanie Ann Ehrhard, Stephen Gerard Ehrhard, Joseph Anthony Hurst, great uncle to Nicholas Edward Ehrhard (Shelby) and great great uncle to Piper Kate Ehrhard and Brooks Henry Ehrhard.
Dr. Farrar, an honor student, attended public schools in Birmingham, Alabama and graduated from Howard College (now Samford University) of Birmingham, Alabama. He graduated from the University Of Alabama School Of Dentistry in the class of 1959 followed by a 1959/1960 Dental Internship at the United States Public Health Service (USPHS) Hospital, NOLA. His first opportunity to practice general dentistry was in 1960/1962 at the Federal Prison in Petersburg, Virginia. He practiced general dentistry in 1963-1966 in Los Angeles and Memphis, TN while teaching part time at the USC Dental School and the University of Tennessee Dental School, respectively. His maxillo-facial surgical residency occurred at the New York University School of Dentistry located on Manhattan supplemented by clinical training at Bellevue Hospital on Manhattan and the 350 bed USPHS Hospital on Staten Island, NY. Following the completion of his residency, he moved back to NOLA in 1970 and was the in-house maxillo-facial surgeon at the USPHS Hospital, NOLA. During this period he taught part-time at the LSU School of Dentistry. Following the 1981 closure of the USPHS Hospital, NOLA, Dr. Farrar went into private practice in NOLA for a short period of time but was offered a job by Whittaker Corporation, an American company which furnished medical personnel to nine hospitals in Saudi Arabia. He and his wife, Suzanne, were hired to work at Khamīs Mushayṭ, located in the mountains of south western Saudi Arabia near Yemen. Their son, Bryan, was born there in 1982. On returning home from Saudi Arabia, Dr. Farrar retired permanently.
Gresham’s life was punctuated by a series of hobbies which included playing the clarinet in grammar school and high school (1940s-1950s); serious competitive table tennis in college; kayaking in the 1970s; a back packer and camper (to bottom Grand Canyon in 1970s for 5 days); golfer, 3 handicap, in 1970s-1990s; serious competitive Bridge competition; sky diver 1970s (50 jumps); a SCUBA diver and underwater photographer with 2500 open water dives worldwide and a published genealogist par excellence 1980s-to his death. He belonged to many organizations including but not limited to Order of Descendants of Ancient Planters 1606-1616, The Sons of the Revolution, Baronial Order of the Magna Charta, The Sons of the American Revolution, The Society of the War of 1812, The Society of Colonial Wars and The Jamestowne Society and he had an ongoing love affair with the Corvette, owning 10 over the years.
The family would like to give special thanks to Lakeside Hospice personnel; especially the caring and empathetic nurses, Leonard, Jaqueline, and Andrika. We would like to thank Dr. Orgotti for being compassionate and listening when listening is the most important part of treatment. We would like to thank the Chaplain, Walter and the Music Therapist, Carissa. They all brought a bit of joy to his life during these trying days.
Relatives and friends are invited to attend the Memorial Service on Saturday, March 6, 2021 at 11:00 a.m. at Munholland United Methodist Church, 1201 Metairie Rd., Metairie, LA 70005. Interment will follow in Lake Lawn Park Cemetery.
Due to current COVID guidelines, masks are required as well as social distancing for attendees.
The service will be live streamed through Munholland United Methodist Church at https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCqt8pOQbDRBI2Ecl0JVb_aQ
The family invites you to share your fond memories and condolences online at www.lakelawnmetairie.com
Tal's teenage parents met as students while attending Woodlawn High School in Birmingham, AL, eloped and were married on 31 Oct 1931 in Pensacola, FL. They lived in the East Lake section of Birmingham, AL in the residence of Tal's mother's parents from 1931-1938 only a few city blocks from the residence of his paternal grandparents. Tal was born on 16 Nov 1934 in the home of his Chappell grandparents and was delivered by his fraternal grandfather, Dr. William Charles Farrar, Sr, M. D.. An acrimonious 1938 divorce of his parents resulted in he and his mother continuing to live in the household of his paternal grandparents, John Mathis Chappell and Zora Belle (Turner) Chappell. He and his mother were "deliberately" mis-enumerated in the 1940 US Census of Birmingham, AL under the incorrect surname of "Chappell", his mother's maiden name. Tal's aunt, his mother's sister, Sue (Chappell) Petty who lived next door was the 1940 US Census informant for both households. Normally, Tal's mother, Jonnie, would have been listed as "daughter" in her parent's household under her married name "Farrar" with the designation of "Div or "D" (Divorced) but she was recorded under her maiden name "Chappell". Tal should have have been recorded as Gresham Talmadge Farrar, Jr, "grandson" of John Mathis Chappell but he was enumerated as Talmadge G. Chappell, "son" of John Mathis Chappell. In the 1930s in the "Deep South" divorce carried a major stigma and was so embarrassing many divorced women tried to disguise it on their census records by claiming they were "widows" or as in this case another guise was used. An example of this "widow" ploy was recently broadcast, 26 Feb 2019, on the PBS genealogy series, "Finding Your Roots" hosted by Henry Louis Gates, Jr., Season 5, Program 8, Episode S05 E08 "Hard Times". One of the three featured people on the show was the actress, Laura Linney, one my favorites. It involved her divorced maternal great grandmother, Ruth Sallie (Collins) Leggett, who not only listed herself as a "widow" in the 1930 census but moved from the "very small" town of Nicholls, Coffee Co., Georgia to Eustis, Lake Co., Florida to avoid the stigma of divorce. Her husband, Milton Mitchell Leggett, according to his death certificate, died on 21 Jun 1962 at Jacksonville, Duval Co., Florida.
Tal was enrolled in Robinson Elementary School in the East Lake section of Birmingham, Jefferson Co., AL in January 1940 prior to the 07 Dec 1941 WWII Japanese sneak attack on Pearl Harbor, Hawaii. The times were already stressful for all Americans during the world wide "Great Depression" and on the home front following the beginning of WWII the nation's children were especially under great stress as many of their fathers were called into the armed services. WWII was the only thing that brought the USA out of the "Great Depression". None of myriad programs designed to produce relief, recovery, and reform instituted by POTUS Franklin Delano Roosevelt in his "New Deal" moved the country out of the financial disaster. Another little known and/or acknowledged fact was that when saying the daily morning pledge of allegiance to our great flag in our schools' classrooms prior to WWII we saluted the flag using what was termed the "The Bellamy Salute" based on the ancient Roman salute with one stiff arm outstretched toward the flag. In the early 1940s, it was noticed that this salute bore a resemblance to a certain other salute being used in Germany at the time (which was also based off of the same original Roman salute). As a result, it was formally replaced by Congress with the now-customary hand-on-heart during the pledge. Each school and each student enthusiastically showed their patriotism by collecting and bringing to the school various materials useful for the war effort, e. g. paper drives, scrap metal drives, rubber dives, grease drives. One incidence made the students of Robinson School very proud: the Army brought a Jeep to the school one day in 1943 claiming we, the students, had collected enough money to buy it for the war effort. We were very proud and thrilled since each student got a short ride on the school grounds but looking back on it, I suspect it was a ploy to keep our efforts and our patriotism at a high level. Tal never had "any" relationship with his father as he totally abandoned his son after the 1938 divorce. Clarinet lessons and enthusiastic practice resulted in Tal becoming a very good amateur clarinet player. He became a member of the Robinson School orchestra but payed the price with the resulting malocclusion of his upper front teeth (buck Teeth) which had to be corrected by orthodontic treatment later.
Below is Gresham's obituary:
Dr. Gresham Talmadge Farrar, Jr., BS, MS, DMD, a descendant of William Farrar (I), a 1618 English emigrant to Jamestown, Virginia, died at home surrounded by family on February 4, 2021, from natural causes. Captain Farrar, a maxillo-facial surgeon retired from the United States Public Health Service (USPHS) in 1981 when the USPHS Hospital located at State and Tchoupitoulas Streets, NOLA was closed by President Reagan. He was born on November 16, 1934 at Birmingham, Alabama, in the middle of the “Great Depression”. He was preceded in death by his parents, Gresham Talmadge Farrar, Sr. and Jonnie Belle, (Chappell) Farrar and his beloved daughter, Debra Leigh (Farrar) Frueh(by his first wife ) and his beloved son, Gregory Wayne Farrar of Atlanta ( by his first wife). He is survived by Suzanne (Katz) Farrar, his wife, his love, his loyal supportive best friend of 44+ years, and their beloved son, Bryan Alan Farrar (Monica) of Covington, LA. Gresham is also survived by his much beloved wonderful children Cheryl Anne Ernst (John) of Atlanta and Leisa Kay Farrar of Gretna LA, by his first wife, Bertha Grace (Brown) Farrar and son in-law Doug Frueh. He is also survived by his granddaughters Jennifer Frueh Labrador (Miguel), Madison Ernst Mantle (Justin), Kaiya Lorraine Farrar, Talia Antoinette Farrar, grandson Caelan Quinn Farrar and great grandson Logan James Labrador. He is also brother-in -law to Jo Anne Katz Ehrhard (Sidney), uncle to Stephanie Ann Ehrhard, Stephen Gerard Ehrhard, Joseph Anthony Hurst, great uncle to Nicholas Edward Ehrhard (Shelby) and great great uncle to Piper Kate Ehrhard and Brooks Henry Ehrhard.
Dr. Farrar, an honor student, attended public schools in Birmingham, Alabama and graduated from Howard College (now Samford University) of Birmingham, Alabama. He graduated from the University Of Alabama School Of Dentistry in the class of 1959 followed by a 1959/1960 Dental Internship at the United States Public Health Service (USPHS) Hospital, NOLA. His first opportunity to practice general dentistry was in 1960/1962 at the Federal Prison in Petersburg, Virginia. He practiced general dentistry in 1963-1966 in Los Angeles and Memphis, TN while teaching part time at the USC Dental School and the University of Tennessee Dental School, respectively. His maxillo-facial surgical residency occurred at the New York University School of Dentistry located on Manhattan supplemented by clinical training at Bellevue Hospital on Manhattan and the 350 bed USPHS Hospital on Staten Island, NY. Following the completion of his residency, he moved back to NOLA in 1970 and was the in-house maxillo-facial surgeon at the USPHS Hospital, NOLA. During this period he taught part-time at the LSU School of Dentistry. Following the 1981 closure of the USPHS Hospital, NOLA, Dr. Farrar went into private practice in NOLA for a short period of time but was offered a job by Whittaker Corporation, an American company which furnished medical personnel to nine hospitals in Saudi Arabia. He and his wife, Suzanne, were hired to work at Khamīs Mushayṭ, located in the mountains of south western Saudi Arabia near Yemen. Their son, Bryan, was born there in 1982. On returning home from Saudi Arabia, Dr. Farrar retired permanently.
Gresham’s life was punctuated by a series of hobbies which included playing the clarinet in grammar school and high school (1940s-1950s); serious competitive table tennis in college; kayaking in the 1970s; a back packer and camper (to bottom Grand Canyon in 1970s for 5 days); golfer, 3 handicap, in 1970s-1990s; serious competitive Bridge competition; sky diver 1970s (50 jumps); a SCUBA diver and underwater photographer with 2500 open water dives worldwide and a published genealogist par excellence 1980s-to his death. He belonged to many organizations including but not limited to Order of Descendants of Ancient Planters 1606-1616, The Sons of the Revolution, Baronial Order of the Magna Charta, The Sons of the American Revolution, The Society of the War of 1812, The Society of Colonial Wars and The Jamestowne Society and he had an ongoing love affair with the Corvette, owning 10 over the years.
The family would like to give special thanks to Lakeside Hospice personnel; especially the caring and empathetic nurses, Leonard, Jaqueline, and Andrika. We would like to thank Dr. Orgotti for being compassionate and listening when listening is the most important part of treatment. We would like to thank the Chaplain, Walter and the Music Therapist, Carissa. They all brought a bit of joy to his life during these trying days.
Relatives and friends are invited to attend the Memorial Service on Saturday, March 6, 2021 at 11:00 a.m. at Munholland United Methodist Church, 1201 Metairie Rd., Metairie, LA 70005. Interment will follow in Lake Lawn Park Cemetery.
Due to current COVID guidelines, masks are required as well as social distancing for attendees.
The service will be live streamed through Munholland United Methodist Church at https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCqt8pOQbDRBI2Ecl0JVb_aQ
The family invites you to share your fond memories and condolences online at www.lakelawnmetairie.com
