Dr. E. Monroe Farber, one of the founding fathers of the University of Florida College of Dentistry and the Academy 100, passed away at the age of 95 on May 17. His wife of 70 years, Martha Innskeep Farber, preceded him in death nearly two years to the day in May of 2005.
Dr. Farber was a vibrant man who will be remembered for a career of service and dedication to dental education and to the dental profession. His distinguished career spans three quarters of a century, during which Dr. Farber served as the 81st president of the Florida Dental Society, now known as the Florida Dental Association, and was the founding president of the Academy 100, an organization made up of Florida dentists who were leaders in establishing a dental school at the University of Florida.
Through Dr. Farber’s influence, his longtime friends and patients, Marshall DeWitt and Jeannette Butts DeWitt, made a grateful patient bequest to the college of $1 million in 1992. The DeWitt gift supports scholarships for as many as 30 UF dental students each year and was, until recently, the largest gift in the college’s history. Until last year, Dr. Farber made the trip from Delray to Gainesville each spring for a luncheon hosted by the Office of Admissions during which he and the DeWitt Scholarship recipients were introduced to each other. Throughout his life, he took special pleasure in mentoring young dentists, and the annual scholarship luncheons provided an opportunity for him to maintain those connections.
A memorial service for Dr. Farber will be held Friday, June 1, 11 a.m. at St. Pauls Episcopal Church in Delray Beach. He is survived by his son, Wayne Farber of California, and daughter Pamela Farber, with whom he lived and who cared for him and Martha during their twilight years.
Sympathy cards may be sent to the family at 1300 NE 2nd Ave., Delray Beach, Fla. 33444-4102.