Louis Edward Farrar

Louis E. Farrar passed away on November 10, 2019 on a quiet Sunday morning with his wife, son, and daughter at his side at City of Hope where he was being treated for myelodysplastic syndrome, a form of the cancer leukemia. Lou was born on March 26, 1946 in Pittsburgh, PA, the only son of Don and Grace Farrar. Their parents moved Lou and his three sisters to Los Angeles in 1953. He has been a resident of Covina since 1954. He graduated from Charter Oak High School in 1964, where he began playing football at 14. He attended Cal Berkeley, earned his bachelor's degree from Cal State LA in 1969, and his Masters in Education from University of La Verne in 1982.

Coach Farrar, known to all as Big Lou, had 322 wins as head coach and was considered the winningest active high school head coach in California at the time of his death. Coach Farrar started at Damien High School in 1968 and moved to Royal Oak High School in 1970. He began coaching at Charter Oak High School in 1985 where he remained until his death. In 2007, Coach Farrar retired from the classroom after teaching for 37 years as a Psychology and Family Living teacher. He was the athletics director for nearly a decade. With Coach Farrar's leadership, COHS won five CIF Championships and made the CIF Playoffs the last 26 straight seasons, also winning 19 League Championships. Coach Farrar was a longtime board member of SCFCA, a member of the National Football Foundation, and CIF Coach of the Year five different times. In 2004, Coach Farrar was named the All-American Football Foundation's Gerald Ford's All-American High School Coach of the Year, and the Los Angeles Times and San Gabriel Valley's Coach of the Year on two different occasions. In 2016, he was recognized by CIF-SS with the Champion of Character award. In 2018, the California Coaches Association recognized Coach Farrar with The Jim Brownfield Coach's Mentor Award. This year, Big Lou is nominated for AFCA's annual Power of Influence Award, to be presented in February. Charter Oak Unified School District's School Board honored Lou with a dedication ceremony to rename the high school football field to Lou Farrar Stadium on November 1. More than his awards though, Coach Farrar took pride in his football family and the many coaches and players he mentored over the years.

Lou, known to his family as Butch, had many passions beyond football. From a very young age he enjoyed the outdoors, as a Boy Scout and later when he'd backpack and fish with his closest teaching friends. Lou had a green thumb and could revive even the saddest of plants. He raised birds for more than 40 years in an aviary he designed and built, raised chickens, rabbits, dogs, and the occasional stray cat. His love for all music, the holidays, and barbeques in his backyard, drew his family close together as they gathered together for many Sundays.

Butch and Nancy (Tootsie) met in 1967 when they were 21 and 19 respectively. On September 20 of this year they celebrated their 50th wedding anniversary surrounded by their family while renewing their vows at home with Lou's priest. His deep Catholic faith guided Lou through the seven months he struggled against leukemia. He is preceded in death by his parents, Don and Grace Farrar and his sister Donna Grace. He is survived by his son Dominic, daughter Natalie, in-laws Adriana and Stacy and his six grandchildren Louis, Donovan, Vincent, Maguire, Sophia and Lorelei, his two sisters Debbie and Leslie, his sister-in-law Donna and her husband Steven, and countless cousins, nieces, and nephews.

Services will be held at Sacred Heart Catholic Church:
344 W. Workman Street
Covina, CA 91723

Rosary Prayer Service
Thursday, November 21, 7pm

Funeral Mass
Friday, November 22, 10am

In lieu of flowers, please consider going to the Blast Athletics website to give to the Big Lou Memorial Fund and support his beloved Charter Oak Chargers Football Program.