John Robert Farthing

John Robert Farthing was born in Jefferson City, MO, on January 12, 1937 to Jennie (Taylor) and Jack Farthing. He departed this life on May 18, 2015, after a brief illness. John graduated from Ozark High School in 1955, and the University of Missouri in 1959, where he was a member of the Sigma Nu Fraternity. He met Nancy O'Bryant during college, and they married in October, 1959. After 53 years of marriage, Nancy departed this life following a long illness. John again found great hope and happiness when he met Gudrun Weinsaft, to whom he was deeply devoted. They married in November, 2014. After graduating from college, John began working at Ozark Wholesale Grocers, his father's company. He later joined McKesson Wine & Spirits. He eventually entered the financial services industry and worked as an investment broker for Stifel Nicolaus for twenty-five years, retiring in December, 2014. John is a former member of the Vestry at Christ Episcopal Church, a former member of the Board of Directors for Wilson's Creek Battlefield Foundation, and spent many happy hours working on his family's farm near Ozark. Above all, John cherished time with friends and family. He had a large, loyal group of lifelong friends who have supported each other in times of loss, and celebrated together in times of joy. To those friends, and to Gudrun, John's children express their profound gratitude. John is survived his wife Gudrun; daughters Julia Maslanka (Bill) of Lower Gwynedd, PA and Elizabeth Bitterman (Steve) of Glenside, PA; a son Jack Farthing, of St. Louis; sisters Jane Wheeler (Jim) of Boulder, CO and Mary Adams (Dean) of Ozark, MO; granddaughters Georgia, Grace and Lily Bitterman of Glenside, PA; three nieces; a nephew; sister-in-law Linda O'Bryant, of Chicago, IL; as well as Gudrun's children: Kevin Stehr (Mel) of Laguna Beach, CA, Andrew Stehr (Susan) of Seattle, WA, and Christina Radocha, of Santa Monica, CA. Visitation will be on Friday, May 22, from 3:00-5:00 p.m. at Adams Funeral Home in Ozark, with a funeral service beginning at 5:00 p.m. at the funeral home. A reception will follow. In lieu of flowers, a donation may be made to the charity of the donors' choice.