ROBERT W. FARQUHAR

1932 - 2015

 
Robert Willard Farquhar  "Bob"  
Robert "Bob" Willard Farquhar, 83, of Virginia, passed away peacefully Sunday, October 18, 2015. Beloved husband of Irina "Irene" Victoria Farquhar; loving father of Anna "Anya" Farquhar; cherished grandfather of Daniel, Bonnie, Joey, and Jackie. Also survived by other family members. He was predeceased by his mother, Ruth C. Boyens; and stepfather, Frank Farquhar; daughter, Patricia; step-daughters, Pamela and Robin; and brother, Richard Farquhar. The magnitude of Dr. Farquhar's talent and visionary leadership had no limits. Dr. Bob was like no other in his ability to "DO IT MY WAY" in developing his "FIRSTS": i.e., unprecedented, almost impossible and, yet, attainable, low-cost, and unique space missions involving both spacecraft that had already completed the primary mission and spacecraft that were still to be designed. He led NEAR Shoemaker mission to the near-Earth asteroid 433 Eros and designs of the Comet Nucleus Tour (CONTOUR) mission; the Mercury Surface, Space Environment, Geochemistry, and Ranging (MESSENGER) mission to the planet Mercury; and the New Horizons Mission to the planet Pluto. Dr. Farquhar published about 200 scientific papers. His book, Fifty Years on the Space Frontier: Halo Orbits, Comets, Asteroids, and More was published in 2010. In lieu of flowers, please send memorial contributions in Robert's name to the National Air and Space Museum, Office of Advancement, PO Box 92192, Washington, DC 20090-2102, www.airandspace.si.edu. Relatives and friends are invited to visit at the Witzke Funeral Homes, Inc., 5555 Twin Knolls Rd. Columbia, MD 21045 on Monday, October 26, 2015 from 9:30 a.m. to 11 a.m., where funeral services will follow at 11 a.m. Interment Columbia Memorial Park.