Obituary of Howard Farra

Farra, Howard Lee 91, of Zion, IL, passed away on May 6, 2012 at home, following a lengthy illness. Howard was born on August 8, 1920 in Lewisburg, Ohio. He was a 1942 graduate of Ohio State University, and served in the Coast Guard. He was employed by Pure Oil Co. in Columbus, Ohio and transferred to Union Oil Co. in Schaumburg, IL in 1961. His marriage of 57 years to Jane Craigmiles ended with her death in 2001. Howard was a member of Memorial United Methodist Church in Zion, and was actively involved until recently. It was there that he met Arlie Klebe and they married eight years ago. She always said he was "the perfect man". Howard had many interests in life. He belonged to the Lake County Civil War Roundtable. He valued his golfing buddies, the Hardy Hiker group, enjoyed playing bridge at Park Place Senior Center in Waukegan, dominos with church friends and spending time with his large combined family. He enjoyed the notoriety of becoming 88 on 8-8-08. Survivors include his wife, Arlie; his son, Matthew (Sue) Farra, Trevor, WI; daughter, Tamma Farra, Bremerton, WA; grandchildren, Ben (Tulika) Chobot, Katie (Tom) Wilson, Seattle, WA.; stepchildren, Gary Klebe, Kenosha, WI, Lorie (Silvio) Martinez, Wheaton, IL, Tim (Debbie) Klebe, Lake Villa, IL, Lisa Johnson, Beach Park; step-grandchildren, Austin, Aaron, and Allison Martinez, Alexis (Andrew) Perron, Damien and Olivia Johnson, and great-step-grandchild, Andrew Perron Jr. A funeral service will be held on Wednesday, May 9, 2012 at 7:00 p.m. at Memorial United Methodist Church, 2935 Sheridan Road, Zion, IL with Pastor Kwadwo Ntim officiating. Visitation will be from 5:00 until time of service at the Church. Burial will be in Portsmouth, Ohio. In lieu of flowers, contributions to Memorial United Methodist Church would be appreciated in his memory.