T. Shoffeitt Obituary

T. Farrell Shoffeitt, formerly of LaGrange and Northbrook, Illinois, and Marco Island, Florida died Friday, August 29 in Sapphire, North Carolina, after a brief illness. He was 73 years old. Farrell was born in Athens, TN, on May 19, 1935 and was a 1953 graduate of McMinn County High School in Athens Tennessee. He attended Tennessee Wesleyan and East Tennessee State. He moved to Chicago and started work as a chemist at DeSoto, Inc, a manufacturer of paint and chemicals headquartered in Des Plaines, Illinois. Farrell held positions in sales, sales management, marketing management and executive management of the chemical division, before retiring as President after 39 years of service. In 1980, Farrell earned his Master's Degree in Business from Northwestern University's Executive Master's Program in Evanston, IL. He met his wife, Kay Lund at Northwestern and they married in 1981. Farrell was an avid antique collector, golfer, fisherman and Chicago sports fan. He collected antique golf clubs and memorabilia, and at one time had one of the largest and most detailed collections of antique cast-iron mechanical banks in the world. His abiding collecting passion, however, was for Early American antique clocks, which he restored, repaired and collected all of his life. He was a member of the National Association of Watch and Clock Collectors for over 40 years. He was a member of the LaGrange Country Club for more than 30 years and the Island Country Club in Marco Island, FL, where the Shoffeitts spent the winter. After moving to Sapphire, North Carolina in 2000 he became a member of Burlingame Country Club. He fished all over the world, but made an annual trek to Norse Lodge on Moar Lake in Manitoba, Canada to fish for trophy-size Walleye and Northern Pike. Farrell was active in the Collier County Habitat for Humanity in Naples, Florida, helping to build many homes for deserving families. Kay and Farrell were long-time subscribers to the Lyric Opera of Chicago while they lived in the Chicago area. He is survived by his mother Juanita Shoffeitt, Etowah, TN; his wife Kay, Sapphire, NC; son Todd and daughter-in-law Kelly, Aurora, IL; son Dean, Huntington Beach, CA; and nephew James Kilner and family, Philadelphia, PA. A celebration of his life will be held on 4:30 pm October 2, 2008 at the Burlingame Country Club, Sapphire, North Carolina. Arrangements are being handled by Thomas Shepherd and Son Funeral Home in Hendersonville, NC. Memorials can be made to Hospice of Transylvania Community Hospital C/O TCH Foundation, PO box 2440, Brevard, NC 28712.