James B. Farison

1938 - 2017

(News story) James B. Farison, an electrical engineer and educator who became dean of engineering at the University of Toledo, his alma mater, died Jan. 19 in Wesley Woods Care Center, Waco, Texas. He was 78.

He had Alzheimer's disease, his wife, Gail, said.

Mr. Farison retired from UT in 1998 as a professor of bioengineering. He'd taught at UT since 1964 and became an associate professor in 1967. From 1970-80, he was dean of the UT engineering college, during which he became a professor of electrical engineering.

"We were all very pleased he was our colleague," said Mansoor Alam, chairman of the UT electrical engineering and computer science department. "I could feel the charm and professionalism he carried with him all the time. He was there to help anyone."

He was recognized as an outstanding young engineer by Ohio and national groups in the early 1970s. He was named an outstanding engineering educator in 1984 by the Ohio Society of Professional Engineers, and in 1986 received a UT outstanding teacher award.

Formerly of Secor Road - he walked to work for years - Mr. Farison and his wife moved to Waco in 1998, and he became chairman of engineering at Baylor University. He was named a professor emeritus at Baylor in 2008, but he continued to teach for several years.

He was born May 26, 1938, to Marie and Blair Farison, and grew up on a farm near McClure, Ohio, southwest of Toledo, and was a graduate of McClure High School. His grades and intelligence resulted in a scholarship to UT, his wife said. He received a bachelor of science in electrical engineering from UT and a master's degree and doctorate in the discipline from Stanford University.

"He was a quiet man and thought carefully and spoke seldom," his wife said. "But when he spoke, you wanted to listen, because he was very brilliant."

He and his wife were longtime members of Westgate Chapel.

"Mainly his heart was in Sunday school, and he was a superintendent at one time," his wife said. "He loved the Lord and wanted to serve him."

He was attracted to Baylor, a private Christian university, in part, "because he could share his faith," his wife said.

Surviving are his wife, the former Gail Donahue, whom he married March 30, 1961; sons, Jeff and Mark; brothers, Robert and Franklin; sisters, Naomi Good and Margaret Fisher, and four grandchildren.

Services will be private. Arrangements are by Grace Gardens Funeral Home, Waco.

The family suggests tributes to Gideons International.

This is a news story by Blade staff writer Mark Zaborney. Contact him at: mzaborney@theblade.com or 419-724-6182.