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Obituary

Daughter: Dad gave 100% to education

FRANK M. FARMER: 1927-2005. He devoted himself to his career, but "when the weekend came, it was all about us," his daughter says.

By MARTY CLEAR
Published August 19, 2005

TAMPA - Education was something of a family business for Frank M. Farmer. His father was a high school principal, his sister was a teacher and his daughter taught special-education students for 13 years.

Mr. Farmer was also a teacher at heart, with a special affection for middle and high school students. But he spent most of his career as an administrator, culminating as assistant superintendent for instruction with Hillsborough County schools for 20 years.

He died Aug. 12 at age 77.

"My dad loved to teach, and he was the teacher for a lot of students in Hillsborough County and a principal for a lot of teachers," said Jan Stromquist.

As an administrator, he left a legacy of progressive programs that benefit students to this day. He initiated Nature's Classroom, which allows students to study for a week in an outdoor setting and started a program that allowed pregnant students to continue their education in a high school setting.

"He took a lot of heat for that," said Stromquist, who also taught in the Hillsborough school system. "But he really felt that these girls needed an education just like everyone else."

Mr. Farmer was born in Kentenia, Ky., and lived in the West as a teenager.

He joined the Army during the last weeks of World War II. He trained as a paratrooper, but the war ended before his training was completed.

He later earned a bachelor's degree from Marysville College in Tennessee and a master's from Eastern Kentucky University.

He met Janis Morris, who would become his wife of 51 years, along a Tennessee road. She had a flat tire and he stopped to help.

"He changed the tire and he asked her for a date," Stromquist said.

The couple spend their first year of marriage in Oak Ridge, Tenn., where Mr. Farmer taught high school. In 1955, they moved to St. Augustine, where he taught seventh grade. They moved to South Tampa the following year.

His talent and enthusiasm were apparent to school officials and he quickly earned a string of promotions. He became a dean and teacher at Madison Junior High School, then a dean at Hillsborough High School. He was assistant principal at Plant High School and then principal at Jefferson High.

In 1965, he became the first principal of Leto High School. He moved with his family to Carrollwood about the same time.

He stayed at Leto for a year. In 1966, he took the assistant superintendent position, a job he stayed in until retiring in 1986.

Over the years, he never lost his passion for his work and the county's students, Stromquist said.

"But family always came first," she said. "He put as much effort into his work as he did his family. That was the way he was. He always put 100 percent into everything he did. We always knew that when the weekend came, it was all about us."

A heart attack prompted him to retire before he turned 60. He spent the first part of his retirement relaxing and traveling with his wife. In recent years, he became her caregiver when she developed Alzheimer's disease.

His own health started to deteriorate recently, but he was alert and talkative until his fatal heart attack.

"I spoke to him every day," his daughter said. "He was my dad, but he was also my best friend."

In addition to his wife and daughter, Mr. Farmer is survived by his son, Terry, four grandchildren and two sisters.

[Last modified August 18, 2005, 11:46:08]