My thoughts and prayers are with the family. Sorry for your loss. 

Terry and I were childhood friends from first grade thru sixth at Lonsdale elementary.We had a lot of memories with our buddies: John Goodman Ernie Bell Danny Brown Charlie May.Time has passed quickly and a good friend gone too soon. May he Rest In Peace.

So sad that we have to bury Uncle Terry tomorrow.  It is hard when you lose someone you've known your entire life.  I have so many memories of Uncle Terry  that I will never forget.  It was always fun to hear about his most recent adventure, to discuss the events of the day or just argue about whether the Cowboys were going to win their Thanksgiving Day game.  He always seemed to be happiest when he was traveling the world experiencing all that nature had to offer.  I think he would have been happier to have lived in the age of exploration instead of the age of technology.  I just hope he is in a place with endless trails, beautiful scenery, and a full, but weightless, backpack.

I knew Terry first as a close friend of my younger brother John, then later as a fellow graduate student and a colleague at SAIC in Oak Ridge. He accompanied us on an unforgettable trip to Jamaica, where we stayed at the Blue Harbor Inn and hiked to the top of the Blue Mountains.  Terry was always great company. He had a kind heart, a reverence for nature and the important things in life, and an endearing irreveraece for the rest.

Terry received his bachelor's degree in Psychology from UT in 1975 and a master's in Ecology in 1986.  As an undergraduate, he worked on the archeological dig on the Chota Native American burial site before TVA dammed the Little Tennessee River.  His career as a scientist included work at SAIC, ICS, XCEL Engineering, and his own company Alpine Environment and Safety, Inc.

Terry and I have been fast friends since we met in first grade. We grew up in the same working class neighborhood of Lonsdale, liked the same pastimes, and enjoyed each other's company.  We loved fishing for trout and bass in clear-water mountain lakes, hiking, cold-weather backpacking, canoeing, and listening to southern rock music.  We had the same grounding in a close family life. Terry loved and respected his parents and brother and was proud of his nephews and spoke of them often.  Terry loved music.  He was an excellent basketball player and followed sports of all kinds: football, basketball, car and bicycle racing.  He was an avid bicyclist himself, riding his bike regularly from Lonsdale to UT during his college years and continuing well into his fifties.  Terry was known and beloved for his intelligence, sharp wit, and intolerance for phoniness.  He was the best of friends through good times and bad and I will miss him always.

Terry loved the outdoors and was my buddy on three backpacking trips in the western from 1988 thru 1993: Montana, Colorado, and Wyoming. We met at SAIC and enjoyed planning our trips almost as much as we loved the experiences we had. I will never forget his kindness, humor, and his wonder at close-ups with moose wandering thru our camp or Persied meteors in Wyoming skies above 10,000 feet.  We last emailed July during the Tour de France while we were both watching; He was a fan of the sprinter Mark Cavendish and a keen fan or the tour.  I will miss him and always value our friendship. Peace my friend and sympathy to his family and friends.

OBITUARY

Terry A Farmer

October 23, 1951 – February 18, 2022

Weaver Funeral Home

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