Farmer, Sue Smith

On August 27, 2021, Sue Smith Farmer of Columbus, Ohio suddenly and unexpectedly passed away from a massive heart attack suffered at her family’s vacation cottage in Lakeside, Ohio, at the age of 71. Born in Dayton, Ohio on April 9, 1950, Sue was preceded in death by her parents George Lloyd Smith and Mary Elizabeth Smith. Sue is survived by her brother, Geoff; her husband, Jim; her older son, Brian (42) and her younger son, Derrick (39); as well as Derrick’s wife, Jin and their daughter, Eliot. She was the pillar of her family, the glue that held them all together. Her kind disposition and whimsical sense of humor will be greatly missed by her immediate family and by all who were fortunate enough to know her. After graduating from the Western College for Women in 1972, Sue enrolled at The Ohio State University in 1973, where she met a law student, James B. Farmer, whom she married promptly following her graduation in 1975 with a Master’s Degree in City and Regional Planning (“MCRP”). For

the first four years of her

career, Sue worked for the Ohio EPA, then went on an extended hiatus in 1979 to raise her sons and follow her husband’s legal career, which led them to Cleveland then Indianapolis. After they returned to the Columbus area (Dublin) in 1988, Sue renewed her own very successful career

-first with the Ohio EPA and

then with the Ohio Water

Development Authority, where she served for 24 years as the agency’s Chief

Loan Officer until her retirement at the end of 2014. While Sue always gave her career full attention—during her 24 years at the OWDA she never missed a monthly Board meeting (thus earning her the honorary title as the “Cal Ripken” of the agency)--just showing up and doing her job was never enough for Sue. Often, she volunteered for additional responsibilities like creating the cover and theme for OWDA’S Annual Report in her “spare” time. But Sue’s primary contribution to the OWDA was her merciless scrutiny and judgement, characteristics which one of her former “bosses” acknowledged when he described Sue “as the best employee he ever worked for.” But while Sue never gave her job less than 100%, she never gave her family less

than 150%. Her first and foremost love in life was taking care of her “boys,” which included her husband and their two sons. Whether rushing home from work to transport her sons to various after school activities, or ferrying them back and forth to Boy Scout or other camps, or making a midnight run to a distant big box store where she could purchase the art supplies for a project one of her sons “just remembered was due tomorrow,” Sue was always willing to make any extra efforts required to keep her family running smoothly. After her sons got older, Sue and Jim spent a year of weekends rehabbing a house in Victorian Village, where they relocated in 2007 from their home in Dublin. Following her retirement in 2014, Sue enjoyed spending August at the family’s vacation cottage in Lakeside, Ohio and winters at the family’s condo in Savannah, Georgia, as well as numerous trips with Jim traveling throughout Canada,

Alaska and Europe—her favorite being an extended trip through Greece which included a cruise around the Greek Isles. When not traveling, Sue enjoyed playing golf, antiquing, and attending Rotary functions with Jim, cooking (particularly for large family gatherings), knitting (every new OWDA baby received a sweater from Sue), reading “cozy” mysteries, discuss

ing thoughtful non-fiction

at her monthly book club meetings, attending theater performances at the Short North Stage while also working on various projects as a member of the theater’s volunteer Board, working at Savannah’s annual Tour of Homes and Gardens, attending literary picnics at the Thurber House, attending Buckeye football and basketball games, watching Phil Mickelson play golf and, most importantly, watching her 22 month-old granddaughter Eliot grow up. Since Sue met her future husband Jim at OSU and since her MCRP launched her long and successful career as the

Chief Loan Officer of OWDA,

Sue’s favorite charity has always been The Ohio State University. If you would like to leave a memorial gift in Sue’s name, please go to give.osu.edu then skip the “Want to Support” Box and click on the “Search” Box and enter “City & Regional Planning Priority Fund,” where three options come up. Select the second option for scholarships (#601261) then enter all info to make your gift, then at the bottom of the page under the “Additional Information” Box you can enter “This Gift is in Honor of Sue Smith Farmer, MCRP 1975.” A Celebration of Life gathering will be held for Sue at 5:30pm on September 15 at the Patricia M. Jurgensen Sculpture Garden at the Columbus Museum of Art. All family and friends are invited.