Category: Obituary: F

 

Elinor F. Potter Fewkes, 79, wife of the Rev. Richard M. Fewkes died August 29, 2009 at home in hospice care after a long struggle with Alzheimer’s disease. She was a graduate of Thayer Academy and Radcliffe College. She met and married Dick Fewkes when she was working for the UUA in their regional office in Brockton, MA. Ellie will be fondly remembered for her dedicated work as a loving teacher in both the Nursery School and Sunday School at the First Parish Church in Norwell, MA. She was an active member of the Women’s Alliance and for many years hosted the Sewing and Handcraft Group for the Annual Harvest Fair. When Dick and Ellie left Norwell in 2000 she was presented with a quilt dedicated to the “First Lady of First Parish 1969-2000.” That quilt comforted her for the rest of her life. She is survived by her husband, her sister and brother-in-law, two sons, a daughter, their spouses and eight grandchildren.

The Rev. Leon C. Fay, 89, died ca. 2002. He earned his AB and STB degrees at Tufts. He served churches in East Bridgewater and West Bridgewater, MA; Scituate, MA; Nashua, NH; Albuquerque, NM; and Cape Town, South Africa. He also served as director of the Department of Ministry at the UUA.

Wayne Fulkerson, the spouse of The Reverend Peg Morgan, died October 19, 2016, following a stroke.

He was born August 22, 1935 in Portland Oregon to Marie Markstaller and Glenn Fulkerson. His parents, unable to care for him at the time, left him with an aunt and uncle, Selma and George Linville. Three years later, they retrieved him and took him to California, where they entered him in child beauty contests. He often came in second in these contests, but they returned to Portland two years later.

Eventually, his parents separated and his mother remarried. This was a volatile relationship that involved drinking and depression. Wayne often felt responsible to keep his mother from committing suicide. When he graduated from high school, Wayne enlisted in the Navy, and was sent to serve in San Diego CA. After his service ended, he enrolled at San Diego State University, where he met and married Sharilyn Ruth Allan.

Wayne and Sherry remained in San Diego for 15 years and had one son, Mark, before relocating to Redmond WA, where Wayne took a position with Safeco Insurance. He enjoyed his work, investigating clients to verify that they had provided complete information on their applications for coverage, and mentoring many new women auditors. A change in the company’s management drove him to seek better skills in dealing with stress and resolving conflict, which led him to discover Buddhism. When he developed heart health issues, he took an early retirement.

After retiring, Wayne was Sharilyn’s assistant in her accounting business. He also pursued a hobby of successful handicapping of horses, using various computer programs he developed. Sherry and Wayne treasured their dogs and cats; and they loved the diverse wildlife that lived in their backyard, a deep ravine. Sadly, Sherry died of lung cancer in 1999.   

Wayne found new love with Peg Morgan, and they married in 2002. With her, he travelled the world, explored spirituality, loved their poodle Angie, and shared beloved friends.  Together, they experienced a weeklong retreat with Thich Nhat Hahn, the great Vietnamese Buddhist teacher. Wayne learned about the power of community as he integrated into Westside UU Congregation, where Peg served. He sang in the choir, and loved sharing his Buddhist beliefs.  He loved the values that UUs teach our children and supported all that his community stands for.

He is survived by his wife Peg Morgan, her sons Chris and Paul Morgan and families; son Mark Fulkerson and family; cousin Donald Linville and his children. He will be dearly missed by all who knew him.

Gifts may be directed to Westside Unitarian Universalist Congregation, (for the Memorial Fund to support children’s, justice, and spiritual growth programs), 7141 California Avenue SW, Seattle WA 98136.

Dr. Elizabeth Fordon, 71, died April 3, 2016 after a long illness with interstitial lung disease. “Betsy,” as she was widely known, was the spouse of the Rev. Dr. John Fordon. He reports that she loved to travel, attend opera, theater, and concerts, and play bridge. She embraced Unitarian Universalism with unbounded enthusiasm, letting all who knew her see her values and belief system. In later years, she focused on raising money for young and impoverished women seeking abortions of unwanted pregnancies, until poor health began to diminish her strength.

She was the devoted mother of Andrew (who passed away at age 23,) and her grown son Philip Reed. She loved being grandmother of Philip’s children — Claire, Connor, and Brendan — and stepmother to John’s five adult children.

Betsy’s passion was her profession as a librarian. She held every possible position in public libraries, from being a teenage book-shelver to a professional Reference and then Children’s Librarian, in Florida and New York. She was a consultant for the Office of Commonwealth Libraries of Pennsylvania, an adjunct professor at several colleges and universities, and finally the director of a multi-library system in Pennsylvania. She held a Masters of Science in Library Science from Florida State University, a Masters of Public Administration from Long Island University, and a Doctor of Philosophy in Library Science, also from Florida State. She was an ardent advocate for all libraries and their staffs, collections, and programs.

John suggests that gifts of remembrance be directed to the donor’s local library.

The Rev. John Farmakis, parish minister and dedicated humanitarian, died on 24 January 2016 at the age of 92.

John A. Farmakis was born in Philadelphia of Greek and Scottish ancestry on 30 August 1923 to Alexander Farmakis and Henrietta (Cunningham) Farmakis. After earning a B.A. from the University of Pennsylvania, he enlisted in the U.S. Army in 1946, hoping to serve the mission of the United Nations. After his discharge, he enrolled in Harvard Divinity School, earning an S.T.B. in 1950.

Mr. Farmakis was ordained to the ministry in 1952 by All Souls Universalist Church of Oakland, Maine, while serving a pastorate there (1951-53). After a one-year ministry to First Parish Church of Saugus (Mass.), he served as a U.S. Navy chaplain (1954-56). Then followed his two longest parish ministries: to the UU Society of Stanford, Conn. (1956-70) and to the Unitarian Society of Northampton and Florence (1970-88). During his career the Rev. Mr. Farmakis was active in Universalist and UU Service Committees, Universalist and UU Historical Societies, and on the UUA’s Overseas and Interfaith Relations Board.

The Rev. Judy Buck-Glenn writes that John “was honest, honorable, kind, and deeply-read, with a keen mind and a passionate commitment to Enlightenment liberalism. He is deeply missed by a small circle of very devoted friends, who feel privileged to have known this quietly-rather-great man.” In lieu of flowers, donations are encouraged to The John A. Farmakis Memorial Fund, University of Pennsylvania, Associate Director of Gift Planning Services, 3535 Market Street, Suite 500, Philadelphia, PA 19104-3309. Notes of condolence may be sent to his nephew at John.Farmakis@gmail.com.