Ronald C. Farnsworth, age 80, died peacefully on August 25, 2013, at North Collier Hospital with his loving wife Helen by his side. He succumbed to complications of several medical conditions, lastly being small cell lung cancer.
Ron, known by many as "Hap," was born in Waterbury, CT, as Ronald Owen Pruett. He became an orphan in 1934 and was placed in The Home For Little Wanderers in Boston. In 1936, he was adopted by Charles and Caroline Farnsworth of Carlisle, MA, and his name was changed to Ronald Charles Farnsworth.
He attended The Brooks School and Fenn School in Concord, MA, and the Bement School in Deerfield, MA. In 1951, he graduated from Middlesex School in Concord where his father was an English teacher. He lettered in football, hockey and lacrosse. He attended Cornell University for a year, played freshman polo, and then served for three years in the army paratroops during the Korean conflict. He was honorably discharged in 1955 as a sergeant, qualified ranger, expert marksman, jumpmaster and senior parachutist. He graduated from Cornell with a bachelor's degree in 1959. He lettered for two years as goalie for the varsity lacrosse team.
He was hired by the Albany, NY, office of Merrill Lynch as a financial consultant and commodity futures specialist. During this time he enjoyed skiing in Vermont, sailing his boat on Lake George, NY, became a private pilot and member of Condair Flyers, golfing at Wolferts Roost and racing his Corvette Stingray and later a Formula C Cooper-Ford Cosworth in the SCCA national circuit. He designed and had built a home on the British Caribbean island of Montserrat. He retired in 1989 as a full vice president after 30 years with Merrill Lynch and returned to live in N. Fayston on the Perley Boyce farm where he had spent summers in the 1940s. He wintered on Montserrat and Destin, FL, and shared his Vermont pastures in the summer with belted Galloway cows and Belgian horses. He moved permanently to Naples, FL, in 2005 where he enjoyed golfing at Countryside Golf and Country Club and being a literacy volunteer. He and Helen treasured their many trips throughout the years, both on land and by cruise ship. Ron enjoyed solving cryptic crossword puzzles, but after losing his eyesight due to macular degeneration, he instead listened to thousands of books on tape from our wonderful Collier County libraries.
He is survived by his wife of 45 years, Helen (Plumb); a daughter, Wendy F. Carroll (Jack) of Falmouth, MA; two sons, Charles L.(Deborah) of Concord, MA, and Mark W. (Laurie) of New York, NY; four grandchildren, Erin, Harrison, Douglas and Ellie; three great-grandchildren; and nine nieces and nephews. He is also survived by his half-sister, Joan Dorozenski of Marco Island, FL. He was predeceased by his sister, Edith Eliza VanHollen.
Interment will be in the N. Fayston cemetery at the convenience of the family.
{loadnavigation}
