Charles Davis Farmer

Charles Davis (Bo) Farmer died peacefully at the age of 88 during the evening of July 6, 2010 in Marblehead, Massachusetts. He was a beloved member of his large extended family and of his community wherever he lived, be it Massachusetts, Florida, New Hampshire or Washington D.C.

Bo was born in Mobile, Alabama on January 31, 1922, the youngest of six children of whom he was the last survivor. He grew up in the South and spent his teenage years in New Jersey - from which he would take the train to New York with his sisters to dance to the Benny Goodman Orchestra and protect them from Benny Goodman.

Bo was a highly decorated naval aviator who fought in World War II and was a member of the elite Grim Reapers squadron. He earned the Navy Cross, the Distinguished Flying Cross and the Navy Air Medal for his service during the war, flying from the aircraft carriers Enterprise and Intrepid to combat Japanese zeros under enemy fire and kamikaze attack. In this extraordinary warfare in the sky Bo was an “ace,” credited with shooting down 7.25 enemy planes in combat. In an engagement over Okinawa where his squadron was heavily outnumbered, he shot down one bomber and three fighters, for which he received the Navy Cross from Admiral Bull Halsey with a citation from President Roosevelt. None of his decorations were awarded for flying inverted under the Golden Gate Bridge, which was strictly forbidden, but he did it anyway.

After the war he attended Harvard College where he met Katharine Butler (Kitty) Crowley of Marblehead, middle child of another large, close knit family. In June of 1948 they were married in a ceremony on Marblehead Neck at the home of her parents. Their marriage was a monumental success. The couple had three sons, Charles Davis Farmer Jr. of New Hampshire, Henry Tudor Farmer also of New Hampshire, and Thomas Richardson Farmer of Florida.

He graduated from Harvard College in 1949, with a degree in government. After college the first years of his marriage were spent in Washington, DC, where Bo served as the Minority Clerk for the District of Columbia Committee. Much of his work involved research for members of Congress including William Bates.

After returning to Peabody, Massachusetts, Bo co-owned and operated Colonial Garage on Derby Street in Salem which he subsequently relocated to Danvers as Colonial Cadillac. He served on the board of the Warren Five Cents Savings Bank and the Naumkeag Trust Company. Always community minded, for many years Bo served as a Trustee of the Salem Hospital and on the board of the American Red Cross. He was an active member of St. Paul’s Episcopal Church in Peabody.

In 1979 Kitty and Bo moved to Deltona Florida for a retirement too active to deserve the name. Bo interviewed candidates for admission to Harvard, was the thinnest Santa Claus in central Florida, continued to be an active member of his church at the Cathedral Church of St. Luke, Episcopal, in Orlando. He assisted Kitty in her artistic endeavors and cared for during her battle with breast cancer until her death in 2006. He also worked full time until he suffered a debilitating stroke in October of 2008, after which he was cared for by his son Tudor with unflagging devotion until the day of his death.

Bo is survived by his three sons, daughters-in-law Susanna, Ebba and Jill, and four grandchildren – Charles Davis Farmer 3rd, Benjamin Almy Farmer, Sara Holbrook Farmer and Daniel Patrick Farmer – and 18 nieces and nephews, many cousins, adoring in-laws and a vast array of friends in Florida and New England.

His kindness and humility were boundless and his admirers are legion. A graveside service will be held at Oakdale Cemetery, on Route 62 in Middleton, MA at 1:00PM on Friday July 23rd. Arrangements by the Eustis and Cornell Funeral Home, Marblehead. Memorial donations may be made in Bo's name to: Merritt Island Wildlife Association, P.O. Box 2683, Titusville, FL 32781.