Obit: Medical school, hospice, more — Ted Farron helped make Windsor stronger (2024)

Ted Farron, Aug. 12, 1940 — June 6, 2024

Ted Farron’s optimism and boundless energy for his business and philanthropical pursuits will have a permanent impact on the community.

Farron died June 6 at 83 after an illness.

His legacy resonates in the Schulich School of Medicine and Dentistry; with the Windsor-Essex Hospice; with Camp Brombal, supported by the Windsor Police Service; with St.Clair College, where he was board chair, and with countless other local fundraising causes.

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And he still had room for his passion for boxing.

His support for the community grew out of his philosophy of business, said son Eric. The owner of Farron’s Gourmet Butcher Shop in South Windsor, Farron took great pride in how his store was presented to customers, Eric said.

“He’d be at it at 4 a.m. for a nine o’clock opening. His art form was putting in that counter (of meats).”

How he went about conducting his business was much like how he worked in the community — with pride and support.

“He wasn’t complex in his approach,” said Eric. “He used to say there’s lots of room at the top. The middle is crowded.

“The way you get successful is just by doing the right things over and over and playing the long game. Don’t take any shortcuts.”

He was named entrepreneur of the year by the local chamber of commerce in 1991.

He didn’t believe in profiting while others lost, said Eric.

“He just did not see business as a zero-sum game,” Eric said. “There doesn’t have to be a loser. He didn’t want his suppliers to not be profitable and he didn’t want them to not be able to feed their families.

“He just felt like the recipe was: everyone does well.

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Known for his relentless optimism, Farron shared his positivity with others, Eric said.

“Even if you’re out at a restaurant and a waiter or waitress had a frown on their face, he would take him aside and say, ‘Hey, where’s your smile and where’s your happiness?’ And they look at him and they’d respond to him.”

Each of Farron’s six children helped out at the store when they were young, so Ted’s dealings with customers rubbed off.

Dwight Duncan, a former city councillor and provincial cabinet minister, knew Farron as one that would make a dark day shine. “He was one of the most positive, upbeat, happy human beings you could ever know,” said Duncan.

Farron was a key mover behind bringing a medical school to Windsor, he said.

“Ted was just one of those who is a force of nature. And an extraordinarily modest man.”

John Fairley, vice-president of communications and community relations at St. Clair College, worked with Farron on the board of governors and through charity work. He recalls how Farron would hold fundraising barbecues to support many causes, including Camp Brombal. The camp gave children from low-income families a summer camp experience.

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“They got fishing rods and he made sure that each of them got a bicycle to take home,” Fairley said.

Farron would share his culinary expertise with students for a couple of weeks at St. Clair College each year by teaching them how to make sausages, Fairley said. “He talked to them about smiling when you’re with a customer. Soft-skill stuff.

“It wasn’t really hard for him to teach because he lived and breathed it.”

The college awarded Farron a diploma in culinary management in 2018.

Carol Derbyshire, former executive director of Windsor Essex Hospice, remembers Farron’s relentless efforts to support the hospice and to establish the medical school, knowing that doctors who train in a community often stay there.

“Ted had endless energy,” she said. “He moved quickly, he walked quickly and he got into things quickly.”

When there was a need in the community, Farron always responded, she said. “He would pick up that gauntlet every time.”

But Farron’s passion wasn’t just reserved for business and community causes. He loved boxing. A fan of Muhammad Ali, he travelled to Louisiana for the second Leon Spinks fight.

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And he supported local boxers. He was vice-president of the Windsor Amateur Boxing club when he met a young boxer with big dreams, Mary Spencer.

“He was a mentor, he was a friend,” she said.

He helped to fundraise for her boxing quests when she was just a teenager. He took her for coffee, and told her: “The fundraising part, leave that to me.

“I realized the weight he had taken off my shoulders when I spoke to my teammates. We’re at this tournament and they’re still talking about how to pay for it.”

With Farron behind her, Spencer would go on to win three world championships, and compete in the 2012 London Olympic Summer Games.

But she also remembers Farron for the advice he offered. “He said life is 10 per cent what happens to you and it’s 90 per cent how you respond to it.

“With that advice he gave me, what a life hack … even 20 years later.”

Farron is survived by his wife Michelle, his sons Eric, Todd, Steve and Jeff, and daughters Lana, and Jennifer.

Update: A celebration of life for Ted Farron will be held Friday, June 28 at the St. Clair Centre for the Arts. The open house runs from 5 p.m. to 9 p.m.

bamacleod@postmedia.com

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