Reports are coming in this morning that former South Dakota Governor Frank Farrar has passed away this morning at age 92.
From the Argus Leader:
Farrar’s meteoric rise in politics flamed out abruptly. He had the distinction of being the last elected incumbent governor to lose re-election when, in 1970, he lost his bid for a second term to Democrat Dick Kneip.
Following that defeat, Farrar reinvented himself as a banker. At 65, after being told he had terminal cancer, he began competing in triathlons and Ironman competitions, which he credited for his longevity and to helping him beat cancer – a longevity that saw him emerge as the Republican elder statesman.
While he was successful in South Dakota Politics, he might arguably said to have been far, far more successful in his second act afterwards as a triathlete and as leader of the First National/First Savings Banks (where I worked for him for a couple of years in the IT dept).
Governor Farrar was a tremendously nice man, and an astute business leader. There will be more on this story in coming days.