I was a student of Mr. Farnham back in 1972 at Pali High. He was a phenomenal teacher, somehow getting a bunch of high school students who were more concerned with dates, parties, and football games to really get excited about biology. You could smell his classroom from down the hall and as you entered it, the energy and life that was contained inside was contagious. We spent hours reading, discussing, dissecting, considering, and most of all, thinking. I think Mr. Farnham's greatest strength as a teacher was to convey science as a relevant, living, important part of life. I went on to medical school and so much of Mr. Farnham's approach to learning came with me. I now have a 17 year old daughter who is taking AP Biology at Pali High, and am amazed to see how much I really remember from those long-ago days in a wonderful classroom with a truly gifted teacher. He was an inspiration to so many, many students. May his memory be a blessing and a comfort to his family, and his legacy be the love of learning we found in his one-of-a-kind classroom. With sympathy and appreciation, Michelle Winfield Headrick, MD Pali High, class of '75

Mr. Farnham was a wonderful teacher and a great man. He was my teacher in 1970 and later I worked for him feeding all the critters. I'll never forget the alligator in the bathtub. He influenced my life in many positive ways. Randy Atha

When I stepped into Mr. Farnham's classroom as a tenth grader in the Fall of 1971, it was my first science class. We all squeezed into a room filled with cages, aquaria, smells, life and wonder. My picture of Mr. Farnham is one of a smiling man gesticulating out the door with a frozen baby alligator carcass, directing someone to sweep the bird cage droppings onto the English teacher's classroom below. Mr. Farnham taught me that science is careful observation. Mr. Farnham taught me that science is a joyful endeavor. Mr. Farnham taught me that science education is about imparting your enthusiasm for a subject to others. These teachings were echoed repeatedly throughout the rest of my scientific career by other mentors, and I have tried to pass them on in my 25 years as a Chemistry Professor. But Mr. Farnham was the first. Thank you. -- Robert M. Corn, Class of 1974.