Raymond Farr
Rank: Chief Engineer (Lieutenant Commander), United States Merchant Marine
Ship: SS William K. Vanderbilt
Entered service from: New Jersey
Died:
Biography
Raymond Farr
Raymond Farr was born in 1896 in Illinois. A veteran of World War I, he had been at sea for more than 27 years. He had held a chief engineer’s license and had been employed in various industries during periods when not at sea.
He was chief engineer at the Academy of Music in Philadelphia for several years and also held a similar post at the Campbell Soup Company plant in Camden. The Farr family lived in Barrington, New Jersey, until approximately 1940, then moved to 348 Reading Avenue in Barrington, and later to Westville, New Jersey, at 327 Chesnut Street.
Raymond Farr returned to sea service approximately six months before his death, holding a chief engineer’s license aboard the SS William K. Vanderbilt. On May 16, 1943, he was lost in the Pacific Ocean.
He was survived by his wife Anna, daughter Mrs. Grace Shissler of Westville, daughter Margaret A. Farr, two sons — Pvt. William Raymond Farr (judge advocate’s department, Iran) and Staff Sgt. Abraham L. Farr (infantry, Southern California) — his mother Esther Farr of Massachusetts, and two brothers, Arthur and Fred Farr, residing in Danvers, Massachusetts, and Gloucester City, New Jersey, respectively.
Westville Officer Is Missing at Sea
Camden Courier-Post — circa 1943
Audubon Sailor Dead in Africa; 17 N.J. Men on Casualty List
An Audubon sailor was reported dead and a Westville merchant marine officer missing in the South Pacific as 17 New Jersey casualties were announced yesterday by the War and Navy Departments.
Fireman Alfred P. Woltjen, of 420 White Horse pike, Audubon, died in a hospital in Africa after surviving a torpedo attack which sank his ship several weeks ago in the South Atlantic. Woltjen’s relatives received official notice of his death three weeks ago.
Lieut. Commander Raymond Farr, 47, veteran of the first World War, who had been at sea for more than 27 years, was reported missing in the South Pacific. His wife, Anna, and a daughter, Mrs. Grace Shissler live at 327 Chesnut street, Westville.
Farr’s wife said they received a V-mail letter from him about three weeks before the telegram arrived. He had been back in service about six months, holding a chief engineer’s license. He had been employed in various industries during periods when not at sea. He served in the first World War and saw “plenty of action,” they stated.
At Academy of Music
He was chief engineer at the Academy of Music, Philadelphia, several years ago and also held a similar post in the Campbell Soup Company plant, Camden.
The Farr family lived in Barrington until three years ago. Two sons are also in the service. They are Pvt. William Raymond Farr, in the judge advocate’s department, in Iran, and Staff Sgt. Abraham L. Farr, in the infantry in Southern California. William, his mother stated, enlisted while in his third year at Temple Law School.
There is one other daughter, Margaret A. Farr. Commander Farr’s mother, Esther Farr, resides at 3 Walden drive, Mass., with a sister, Mrs. Bertha Geyer, while two brothers, Arthur and Fred, reside in Danvers, Mass., and Gloucester City, respectively.