James J. Faran

James J. (Jim) Faran, a resident of Lincoln for over 55 years, died June 4, 2008 at the Concord Health Care Center.?He was 87.?Originally from Glendale, Ohio, Mr. Faran graduated from Washington & Jefferson College and the Harvard School of Engineering.?During World War II he worked in the Harvard Underwater Sound Laboratory. Mr. Faran worked as an electronics engineer for the General Radio Company of West Concord, MA for 36 years. Much of his career was spent designing computer test equipment. Jim Faran was a versatile amateur musician and played a variety of brass instruments including trombone, baritone horn, and tuba.?He played and marched with the Concord Band.?His passion for Dixieland jazz led him to be a founding member of the Tabor Hill Jazz Band, which entertained locally for many years, and later program chairman for Classic Jazz at Lincoln Library.? Jim loved word play and the quirks of mathematics.?He was a skilled woodworker and hobbyist, with a lifelong interest in model railroading and steam trains.?He was the author of an article published in Horizon magazine called "How to Buy a Tuba" and an essay called "Numbers at Night" that was published in the Lincoln Review.?In his retirement years he enjoyed international travel and discovered a talent for photography. His first wife, Ellen Gallishaw Faran, passed away in 1984. Jim Faran leaves his wife, Margery Palmer Faran, two daughters, Ellen Faran Pope of Boston, Judith Loveland Faran of Bridgewater NH, two sons, James John Faran V of Amherst NY and George Gregory Faran of Bridgewater NH, a stepdaughter, Suzanna Collins Mathews of Cornville AZ, and 4 grandchildren.