Stephen W. Farkas

Stephen William Farkas, 98, of Idaho Falls, passed away peacefully on July 16, 2019, at Fairwinds Retirement Center under the care of Hospice of Eastern Idaho, the Fairwinds staff and his loving family. Steve was born on June 18, 1921, to Joseph and Julia Tury Farkas in Bridgeport, Connecticut where he attended both grade school and high school.  Steve was inducted into the U.S. Army in October, 1942, during WWII, serving initially as a lab technician for the 28th General Hospital and later, as a cadre member for the newly formed 98th General Hospital.  Steve arrived in England on April 4, 1944, in anticipation of the D-Day invasion of June, 1944.  In May, 1945, war in the European theater ended and his unit was sent to Munich, Germany to establish the only military hospital for U.S. occupation forces and their dependents.  In July of 1947, Steve returned to the U.S. and enrolled in the music program of North Texas State University in Denton, Texas where he earned a Bachelor’s degree in music and a Master’s degree in music education. In the summer of 1950, Steve worked as a camp counselor and choir director at Geneva Glen Camp near Indian Hills, Colorado where he met his musical match and the love of his life, Ruth C. Reichley, another camp counselor and the camp pianist.  They were married on February 10, 1951, in Denton, Texas and moved to Idaho Falls in the summer of 1952, after his graduation. Steve took a job as the vocal teacher at O.E. Bell Junior High, teaching there for three school years.  He found it challenging to support his growing family on a choir teacher’s salary so he took a job in August, 1955, with Westinghouse Electric Corp. where he taught radiological safety to U.S. Navy submarine personnel, including crews from the USS Nautilus.  In September, 1967, Steve left Westinghouse to join the Department of Energy- Idaho Operational Safety Division where he was responsible for coordination of the Radiological Assistance Plan for the five-state DOE Region 6.  Steve remained with the DOE for 22 years until his retirement in December, 1989. Although Steve had many interests, music was the thread that wove throughout his entire life.  He found his wife, Ruth, through music and the two of them lived a musical life together. Not every singer is fortunate enough to marry his accompanist.  Steve loved nothing more than to sing with his superb tenor voice-anywhere, anytime: high school and college choral groups, solos, quartets in the army, church choirs, church camps, Elks Club, weddings, funerals, operas, theatrical musicals, and, of course, around the house. We thought everyone’s house sounded like that!  He also served as the choir director for Trinity United Methodist Church for 27 years.  Highlights in his musical career included organizing and directing ecumenical productions of “The Messiah” with the Idaho Falls symphony and 150 voices from 14 local churches, a joint production of Brahms’ “Requiem” in Sun Valley with the Juliard chorus and his singing roles in local productions of “Brigadoon”, “Pirates of Penzance”, “Man al a Mancha”, “My Fair Lady”, and “Carmen”. Steve was also an artist, an avid golfer and, later in life, an inventor.   He created and painted hand-embossed images on metal offset sheets for display around the home and in local art shows.  At the age of 90, after numerous designs and prototypes, Steve successfully obtained a U.S. patent and USGA certification for a new type of golf putter, the “Spineback”.  The putter is sold in local pro shops and he would certainly like you to buy one. Steve is survived by his daughter, Gail Eckhoff of San Ramon, CA; son, Paul Farkas (Virginia) of Eugene, OR; son, John Farkas (Cheri) of Phoenix, AZ; 4 grandchildren, Ben Farkas (Alicia), Kevin Farkas (Jessica), Rachel Phillips (Michael) and Cameron Farkas (Kristina) and 4 great grandchildren, Caden Farkas, Connor Farkas, Julian Farkas and Charlotte Rose Farkas. Steve was preceded in death by his wife of 64 years, Ruth Farkas, by his parents and by his seven siblings, Joseph Farkas, Regina Takacs, Julia Cratty, Helen Golemba, John Farkas, Eugene Farkas and Irene Seiger. A memorial service will be held on Saturday, August 3, at 11:00 a.m. at Trinity United Methodist Church, with Rev. Ruth Marsh officiating. The family will visit with friends and acquaintances immediately following the memorial service.  A light lunch will be served.  Interment with military honors will follow at Rose Hill Cemetery. In lieu of flowers, the family suggests donations to the Trinity United Methodist Church Memorial Fund.