F. Farel Tibbitts

Tibbitts, F. Farel, 85, passed away April 6, 2011. A resident of Wichita for the past 32 years, Farel was the retired General Manager for New York Life Insurance Company. Born May 11, 1925 in Lewiston, Utah, he graduated from Utah State University. There he met and married Roma Bernston in 1947. Married for 63 years, they are parents of six children. They have 28 grandchildren and 15 great-grandchildren. An accomplished jazz trombonist, he led a popular dance band during the 1940s. In 1954, he joined New York Life as an agent in Pocatello, Idaho. He was promoted to General Manager of the Duluth, Minnesota office in 1966, and then moved to St. Joseph, Missouri in 1969 before settling in Wichita in 1979. An active member of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saint, he held many responsibilities-including serving as Bishop and Patriarch. Farel is preceded in death by his parents, Floyd and Marva Tibbitts, his brother Wes Tibbitts, his sister Marilyn Lower, and his oldest son Kent. He is survived by his wife, Roma, his brother Edgar Tibbitts of Hyde Park, UT, and children Alice Kornavich of New Orleans, LA; Tony Tibbitts of Highlands Ranch, CO; Lee Ann Watson of Wichita, KS; Clare Clay of Bloomington, IL; and Russell Tibbitts of Renton, WA. Visitation with the family will be 5:00-7:00 p.m., Sunday, April 10 at Downing Lahey Mortuary East. Services will be held at 11:00 a.m., Monday, April 11, at The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, 7011 E. 13th Street, Wichita. Visitation with the family will be 5:00-7:00 p.m., Sunday, April 10 at Downing Lahey Mortuary East.