- Date Of Birth: June 16, 1923
- Date Of Death: January 17, 2021
- State: Ohio
Valden F. Farnham, a retired Toledo civil engineer and surveyor who had major roles in the design and construction of the Toledo Airport, the Ohio Turnpike, and interstate highways, died January 17, 2021, at home in Columbus, where he had lived since 2009. He will be remembered as a prolific storyteller, caring father, grandfather, and great grandfather, and devoted husband to his wife of 71 years. A native of West Toledo, Farnham attended DeVeaux Elementary and DeVilbiss High Schools. He earned his bachelor’s degree in 1948 from the University of Toledo, where he was a member of Alpha Sigma Phi fraternity. He enlisted in the U.S. Army in 1943 and was deployed with the 258th Combat Engineer Battalion to Central Europe, participating in the Battle of the Bulge and the crossing of the Rhine River south of Wesel, Germany, ultimately earning two bronze stars. He later was stationed with occupation forces in Bavaria and formed a life-long friendship and correspondence with a German family there. He married Margaret (Marge) Oram on June 28, 1947. Farnham worked as a surveyor and a design engineer on the Ohio Turnpike. He then joined the engineering firm responsible for the design of the Toledo Express Airport. Upon design completion, he was named construction engineer for the airfield. In 1958, Farnham and colleague John Wirries established Farnham, Wirries, and Berning Civil Engineers and Surveyors, specializing in all fields of surveying and land development. They designed many subdivisions in the Toledo area, Bedford Township, and Monroe County, Michigan. Farnham also represented his firm as Village Engineer for Waterville and Whitehouse. In the 1960s, his firm became involved in the development of man-made lakes, including Lake LeAnn, Lake Columbia, Lake Somerset, and Lake of the North in Michigan, as well as Apple Valley in Central Ohio and two projects in Indiana. Upon retirement in December 1989, Farnham became interested in genealogy and spent three years researching his family history. An exhaustive search with his son, Garald, culminated in a 400-page Farnham history dating to pre-1600. His interest in writing continued, and in 2009 he completed and published his memoir Just A While Ago. He also was a frequent contributor to Bend of the River magazine out of Maumee, Ohio. He was an active member of St. Paul’s Lutheran Church, Toledo, where he once cooked monthly meals for the men of the church. The couple eventually joined Redeemer Lutheran Church, Columbus. He was an avid and skillful bridge player and enjoyed weekly games at the Gahanna Senior Center. His wife preceded him in death in 2018. He is survived by his children, Garald (Nancy) of New York City; Valerie (Tom) Wilkinson of Westerville; Bruce (Dianna) of Weld, Maine; Mark (Lisa) of Charleston, South Carolina; and Margaret (Maureen) of Columbus; nine grandchildren and 19 great grandchildren; brother, Lavern (Betty) Farnham of Parrish, Florida.
