Eddie Farris-Nagatome

1958~2001

Eddie Farris suffered a heart attack and died on Thursday, June 7th. He leaves behind his wife, Vicki, and sons Andy and Jarrett.

Services are tentatively scheduled for 10:00 Thursday morning, June 14th in Bakersfield, Ca. with viewing Wednesday evening.

Eddie was born at the Johnson Air Force Base in Irumagawa, Japan. Eddie was a Technical Investigator with the forensic services section of the Kern County Sheriffs Department.

June 26th would have been the one year anniversary of Eddie having rejoined us in the Sasebonians. We have been very fortunate to have had Eddie back in our midst, even if only for such a short time. May God embrace you in his arms, good friend!

A Stone

Once a little stone

Was lying in a field

Till someone picked him up

Polished him

Joined him with other stones

And made him part of a wall.

He wasn't a stone anymore

Free to lie in the dust

Until the rain came

To make him clean again.

He was cemented in a wall

Surrounded, crowded by other stones.

He was hardly noticed before

Now everyone saw the wall

Of which he was a part.

But the wall was in a field

And did nothing, protected nothing

Led to nothing.

It was only a wall in a field

Standing alone made by a man

Who thought they should use the stone for something.

And the little stone will remain there

Till the wall falls down

Or someone knocks it down.

Then he will be a stone again

And get dusty, feel the rain

And the soft feet of children.

James Kavanaugh

"Faces in the City"

Yesterday was heart wrenching, but I was glad I was able to attend. Eddie's service was very impressive...there were Sheriff's Honor Guards standing at attention on each side of the casket...and an impressive number of the Kern County Sheriff's department attended in dress uniform...The head man, Sheriff Carl Sparks gave the eulogy. I was impressed because this wasn't the generic eulogy for someone in his employ, he spoke of Eddie as a friend. He read from Eddie's last annual job review...it was an endless list of accomplishments both on the job and as a volunteer for various organizations. He said that with Eddie's talents in the forensics field, he could have gone anywhere and pretty much written his own ticket, but he stayed there out of his deep devotion to his family. I've never heard so many sincerely complimentary things said about any one person in my life. Eddie was a modest man, he never let on that he was so respected...it was awesome.

For those of you who have been following Eddie's search to find God in his life, and praying for him so faithfully, the Pastor of the church said that Eddie had only been attending there a short time, and he didn't have a relationship with Jesus Christ at the beginning, but Eddie had been attending a support group in the church and through that fellowship, Eddie had accepted Christ as his Savior just shortly before leaving on his trip to Japan, and he said he truly wanted the same for his sons. What a blessing!

We stayed for the luncheon/reception at the Sheriff's hall and I was glad to meet some of Eddie's friends, especially Jeff, who has been so good about keeping us updated on the details. We spoke with Eddie's mother, who was so touched that we would attend and thanked our club for sending the beautiful flowers (thank you to those who are contributing!).

As hard as it was, I was glad I was able to see Eddie one last time. It gave me some closure, since it happened so suddenly...he had emailed me shortly before he died, so it was hard for me to believe it was true. But I am able to let Eddie go because I know that he is no longer burdened by the cares of this world. I will always have his memory in my heart, and best of all, I truly believe I will see him again in heaven someday. Mary Huggins-Torpey

Frances and I were fortunate to spend an evening with Eddie not too long ago. He was excited about the reunion and was looking forward to seeing everyone again. I wish you all could have gotten reacquainted with him. He was warm and funny, talented in his field of forensics, a wonderful, loving dad, and a good friend. I will surely miss him. Mary Huggins-Torpey

God bless him and his family. I am saddened that most of us never had the opportunity to become reacquainted with him. Darlene Huggins-Neher

My heartfelt condolences are extended to Eddie's family. He had emailed me a few times and I tremendously enjoyed hearing from him. We have suffered a great loss to our group, he had already made many valuable contributions to us and I was sincerely looking forward to more from Eddie. This warm and interesting man had alot to give to his family as well as his friends and I will miss him. Cindy Hathaway-Dever

I just got a phone call from Jimmy Clark telling me the sad news about Ed. I am deeply saddened to hear such news about any of my former students but especially those with whom I had a close relationship during their school years. Last month Jimmy and I had finally gotten in contact again after several years. Went out to a beer hall in Tokyo and were reminiscing about everyone, but especially laughing over our memories of Ed. We were waiting to make contact with him and set up a reunion in the future back here in Sasebo on Ed's next visit to Japan. How sad that should such an event take place it will be only with his memory, not his person. Those who do make it for his services, please pass on my warm thoughts to his family and mother and my wish for strength to his sons who won't have him around. I know from personal experience how hard it is to lose your father. Wendell Johnson

I am in total shock with disbelief. I was so much looking forward to reuniting with Ed in Vegas after 25 years. He was a classmate of mine, and we graduated together in 1976. I have been recently admiring his accomplishments in the forensic sciences, and it seems he was tops in his field. I know his name will live on with his innovative methods and procedures in the field of forensic sciences. I am truly numb, but I feel Ed is smiling down upon us and wants to thank y'all for all the Christian support and encouragement in the past months. Johnny Walker

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Eddie's Family Website
Eddie's Interview
Virtual Crime Scenes