Robert Eugene Farmer was born on May 21, 1928 in Canton, New York, the son of Channing and Fern Farmer. Bob passed away on September 21, 2020 in Athens. His wife of 66 years, Mary, predeceased him in April 2017. Interment will be in The Cathedral of the Pines in Tyler, Texas. Bob graduated with honors from Canton Grammar and High Schools. He received a scholarship to Columbia University, School of Engineering and while working two jobs received a BS in Chemical Engineering in 1949. He was President of his Freshman class and a member of the Thespian and Van Am Societies. Later in his career, he received a MS Summa Cum Laude in Production Management. In March 1951, Bob and Mary Longshore were wed in the Chapel of Columbia University. They designed and built their first home in Wayne, New Jersey where a son, Robert Eric was born to them in 1963. Eric passed away in 1985. They moved to Basking Ridge, New Jersey where they practiced their love of horses, raising and riding them throughout the area adjacent to the Olympic Equestrian Team headquarters. Bob’s first employment was with Colgate-Palmolive International as a production manager of overseas facilities. This entailed assignments to plants in Central America, Asia, Europe, and Australia for supervision and construction of new facilities. He held executive positions in other companies including a former competitor, Lever Brothers. Bob’s career was interrupted by two years in the U.S. Army. Entering as a private, he was commissioned as a lieutenant and served in Chemical Corporate Intelligence in Washington, D.C. and as Executive Officer of the Engineering Command at Edgewood Arsenal. Prompted by his military service, he pursued his lifetime dream of learning to fly and became a licensed pilot and a member of the AOPA. Also, a staunch boat owner, he was a member of the U.S. Power Squadron. He retired from his career in the chemical industry as CEO of Delta Chemical and moved to a self-designed house in the hill country of Kerrville, Texas. The home was part of a co-op ranch, Tierra Linda, where Bob helped to modernize the facilities, worked cattle, and with Mary, taught guests and other owners how to ride horses properly and safely. Bob was a Certified Instructor by the Camp Horse Association. Bob instituted trail rides, cookouts, and amateur rodeos for the pleasure of the other owners and rebuilt an 1880’s delivery wagon to tour visitors thru the ranch. In this time, he teamed with a local contactor to provide pro bono designs and supervision for the construction of homes for new residents. He volunteered to design homes to be built by the students of the Vocational Department of the Kerrville High School. They moved to Athens, Texas in 1990 to the home on Lake Athens, an area more reminiscent of their birth area in the foothills of the Adirondacks of New York state. He volunteered to work at the Texas Freshwater Fisheries Center where he assisted in designing and constructing a number of exhibits and outdoor structures including a honeybee house and display of live bees. This earned him the nickname of Beekeeper Bob. To find relief from the hot Texas summers, they purchased a second home in Estes Park, Colorado where they spent the four summer months enjoying the beauty and recreation of the Rocky Mountain National Park. Bob had a lifelong interest in art and was an avid art collector. His collection included works of many artists but the majority were painters of the Rockies including a prominent Dallas artist, Cecy Turner. At home, he built a greenhouse and raised orchids which he enjoyed giving away to friends. He was a member of the American Orchid Society. His other hobby was providing investment guidance for friends and relatives to provide them a safe retirement. One such was his closet friend, Allen Forshage, former director of the fish hatchery who allowed Bob allowed Bob could not die until he made Allen rich. Guess I did. Bob is survived by his brother, Richard Farmer of Schenectady, New York, numerous nieces and nephews and their families. If desired, any donations should be made to East Texas Communities Foundation, 315 North Broadway, Suite 210, Tyler, Texas 75702 for inclusion in the Robert Eric Memorial Fund.