Robert Merle Farnsworth

Robert Merle Farnsworth was born May 5, 1929, outside Detroit, Michigan to Merle and Irene Farnsworth. An only child, he delighted in many cousins, aunts and uncles, frequently visiting their farming community. His father found work in Detroit and grew a successful coal and ice business. Robert remembered delivering huge blocks of ice to those old ice boxes up many flights of stairs to their customers. He was a stellar student, a stand-out athlete and a bit of a maverick growing up. His wife, Sylvia, remembers a teacher telling her not to go out with him because he was “too wild.” Sylvia was the sister of Robert’s best friend and he noticed her visiting their home. They were inseparable, marrying in June 1950, when Robert graduated cum laude from the University of Michigan. They moved to Connecticut for his master’s degree. New Orleans was where he completed his PhD in English literature from Tulane University and their first two children were born. After receiving that degree, the family returned to Detroit and a faculty appointment at Wayne State University. Two more children came along and a tenure track faculty position opened at the University of Kansas City (now UMKC) in 1960. Their fifth child was born in 1964.

Robert grew into the Kansas City community in many ways. Active in the Civil Rights movement, he was a co-founder of the local chapter of CORE and a witness/participant in many actions to de-segregate neighborhoods, lunch counters, theaters, parks and pools. He became chair of the faculty senate when the university was merged into the state university system and later chair of the English Department at UMKC. Always interested in English language literature from around the world, he was the recipient of three Fulbright grants, spending sabbatical years in India, Turkey and China. In retirement, he spent two years teaching in Nagasaki, Japan. A long time writer and editor, he wrote well regarded biographies of Edgar Snow, Melvin Tolson and Leon Jordan. An active tennis player into his 80s, he was a mainstay of the Rockhill Tennis Club until its dissolution.

He is survived by his wife, Sylvia Binkowski Farnsworth; his children, Laurel, Wendy, Margaret, Christopher and Katherine Farnsworth; son-in-law, Stephan De Spiegeleire; grandchildren, Stephen Downey and his wife Nicole Castagnozzi, Sarah Farnsworth, Sophia De Spiegeleire, Zoe Farnsworth; and great-granddaughter, Elena Castagnozzi. A memorial service will be held this summer for family and friends. Condolences may be offered at www.mcgilleymidtownchapel.com.