Russell Dale Farnham

Russell Dale Farnham died in Asheville on August 18, 2026. He was 85. Born on January 8, 1941, with Appalachian roots that shaped the table more than the flag. He learned early that a day is something you finish, not something you wait for. He rubbed stain into wood until color became character. A can labeled by hand sat on his bench; he could match a customer's memory of a table. Colleagues still mention a can of stain labeled by hand. He married Betty in 1966. They kept a house that stayed modest when the neighborhood did not. They raised a son through public schools and ordinary weather. After Betty died in 2019, he kept the routines that still made sense: the walk, the garden, the Sunday call. Neighbors remember a rake leaned against a shared fence after a storm. He liked early mornings before the heat or the noise. He died in Asheville, among streets he never needed to explain. The porch still expects a returning step.