Donald George Farnum

Donald George Farnum was born in Oakland, California on April 3, 1934. He lived an extraordinarily healthy life and was proud of doing 87 pullups, 87 pushups, and walking 87 laps on his 87th birthday. (We're pretty sure the pullups were assisted, but we didn't ask too hard.) Multiple myeloma finally slowed him down a bit, but he was still walking about and driving his car until shortly before his death. Don died as he wished, falling asleep on Saturday June 13, and then having the longest nap of his life, finally passing on Friday, June 19, 2026.

Don's father Frederick was an optometrist for the Boston Red Sox and gave young Donald a baseball signed by Babe Ruth, which Don cleverly traded for a butterfly collection. His mother Julia raised him in the Episcopal Church, where he served as an acolyte but mostly avoided absorbing the good things they tried to teach him. He met the (first) love of his life Ann Pridham and wedded her on July 3, 1953. They raised four children, Carol (David) Meckes of Roxbury, NY, Lorraine (Paul) Garland of Dimondale, MI, Dorothy (Nick) Hufnagel of Chelsea, MI, and Charlie (Kendall) Farnum of Northville, MI. Don cared lovingly for Ann throughout her struggle with cancer which ended in 1991.

Don married the (second) love of his life Sandy McBain on July 18, 1992. He quickly treated her children as his own: Cindi (Ted) Knudsen of Fort Myers, FL, John (Michele) McBain of Jackson, MI, and Mark (Gina) McBain of Springfield, MO.

Don attended Harvard University where he earned his PhD in chemistry. He taught for many years at Michigan State University, where he was loved by (most of) his students even though he refused to hand out unearned A's to premeds who "needed" a 4.0 in organic chemistry. He did not emphasize chemistry in the home, as he did not want his children to feel compelled to follow in his footsteps. Good try, Dad: three of his children became teachers.

Unlike Don, Ann was immersed in her Christian upbringing and worked hard to educate her husband. In the early 60's he found a deep love for God and committed his life to Christ. His connection to the Church was central from that point on. He ended his life assured that the future would be a grand adventure, shared with all his family and friends.

As a chemist, Don discovered the key pigment in Ferrari Red, and developed a method for synthesizing the key ingredient in Gypsy Moth traps. He forgot to convert either of these discoveries into a fortune despite their widespread use. He was fascinated by the chemistry of film development and printing, which inspired his early love of photography. He later joined in the digital photography revolution - once the cameras finally got “good enough” - and was the (free!) wedding photographer for much of his family and (affordable!) photographer for countless others. His beloved Sandy was his posing assistant and they made a great team. They took care of each other for over 30 years, spending much time traveling around the world. When they weren’t traveling, they enjoyed their family, friends, and the birds at their home in Delta Township and their apartment at Delta Retirement Center.

In his later life, Don was known primarily as a loving Christian and a wonderful pianist. He helped people to know they were beloved and worthy of love, regardless of who they were or what they did. He loved music and could effortlessly merge countless hymns into melodies that were at times haunting, at times jazzy, but always with underlying joy. He sang in church choirs and the Da Capo choir of Lansing and played piano and keyboard for the Singers on the Grand and at East Lansing Trinity, First Baptist, and Immanuel Community Reformed Church. His music and “wee words of wisdom” also delighted his many friends at the Cedar Campus Family Camp, where he annually brought his children, grandchildren, great-grandchildren, and even some of the great-great-grands for thirty wonderful years.

Don was predeceased by his parents, his wife Ann, and his brother Eddie. He is survived by his wife Sandy, his seven children, his nineteen grandchildren, and many nephews, nieces, great-grandchildren, and great-great-grandchildren.

A memorial service was held at Immanuel Community Reformed Church on Father's Day, June 21, 2026 at 4:00 p.m., with a second private service held at Delta Retirement Center. The church service may be viewed at bit.ly/DGFMemorial.

In lieu of flowers, donations may be made in Don's honor to Immanuel Community Reformed Church (www.icrclansing.org/give) or to The International Myeloma Foundation (fundraise.myeloma.org/DGF).