(Editor’s note: This story will be updated as funeral arrangements are made public.)
By Judy Clabes
NKyTribune editor
Philanthropist and businessman Oakley Farris, who turned 101 on August 28, died Monday around 12:30 p.m at his home in Covington.
Farris became an iconic figure in his adopted community, a community he embraced with enthusiasm — and with his pocketbook. He was celebrated for his generous support of the arts and other important community organizations — and for his enduring love for his beloved wife, Eva, who preceded him in death in 2022 at the age of 103.
“I really don’t have any idea why I’ve hung in there so long,” Farris told NKyTribune reporter Patricia Scheyer on his 100th birthday last year. “I appreciate it — it’s a day-to-day thing. But at this point in my live, I appreciate anything!”
And the community appreciated him.
Oakley was born in Gray, near Lexington, and learned early on that he could make money by selling candy bars, which he did at local factory gates. After high school graduation, he talked himself out of a 4F deferment and served in Italy during WWII. After the Army, he settled in Covington and took a job as a traveling salesman. He met Eva, who was born and educated in Cuba, when they both happened to be in Miama, Fla., during a hurricane. They developed a long-distance relationship that that flourished over two years. They were ultimately married in New York at St. Patrick’s Cathedral. They were married for 72 years.
Oakley parlayed his salesmanship into smart investing and he and Eva renovated and purchased more than 40 apartment buildings in Northern Kentucky with a total of 102 apartments. And, in the process, accumulated a fortune they shared with the community. Over the years, the Farrises have donated millions to help others.
Among the beneficiaries of their generosity are contributions to Northern Kentucky Unviersity, Thomas More University, Gateway Community & technical College, Behringer Crawford Museum, St. Elizabeth Medical Center, Carnegie Visual and Performing Arts, Holmes High School, Kentucky Educational Television, Navigo College and Careeer Prep, Children’s Inc. (now Learning Grove) — among many others.
In 2022, on a whim, he did a DNA test with an online biotech company and found he had a son he didn’t know about. It turned out to be Bill Scheyer, well-known in the region for his leadership in Erlanger, with Southbank Partners and Green Umbrella and as head of the then-Vision 2020/Skyward. Scheyer survives his father and over Oakley’s final years they became valued friends.
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See an earlier NKyTribune story about Oakley Farris here.
See also “Love was driving force in a marriage and legacy of philanthropy”.