Lancelot L. Farrar Jr. ’54

Lon Farrar died May 16, 2010, after a prolonged battle with Parkinson’s disease.  

Born in New York City, Lon graduated from Great Neck (N.Y.) High School. He was a history major at Princeton and a member of Quadrangle Club and Princeton Rowing, and served in the Chapel Deacons and the Chapel Choir. He served in the Army’s Signal Corps headquarters in Stuttgart, Germany, and then enrolled at the University of Göttingen to learn German history and language.  

In 1957, Lon entered Christ Church at Oxford, where he wrote a thesis on the German foreign ministry for his doctorate and rowed with the Christ Church team. While studying at Oxford he was introduced to Marjorie Milbank by Robert Bennet ’54, became engaged in May 1959 in Christ Church Canon’s garden, and was married in September on Long Island. They lived in California, Washington State, Boston, and France, which became their spiritual second home. Lon became a history professor and wrote several books about German diplomacy and strategy before and during World War I.  

Marjorie died of cancer in 2000. Lon is survived by his daughter, Olivia ’83; son-in-law Max Derrickson; daughter Shepard ’85; son-in-law John Garren; and granddaughters Ariel and Maia. The class extends condolences to them all.