MSOE mournes the loss of John Farrow H’08 who passed away on Aug. 27, 2026. Farrow served as a professor and chairperson in the Mechanical Engineering Department at MSOE for 16 years and was instrumental in starting Project Lead The Way (PLTW) in Wisconsin. His influence left a lasting impact on the K-12 programming and undergraduate education at MSOE that can still be seen today.

Farrow earned his B.S. in Electrical Engineering in 1956 from Marquette University. After graduation, he was commissioned as a naval officer and spent two years on a destroyer and was head of the engineering department. He achieved the rank of Lieutenant before his honorable discharge.

After leaving the service, Farrow worked for several organizations as an engineer, eventually moving into quality assurance at Rural Transformer and Equipment Company in Waukesha, Wisconsin. During these years he also earned an M.S. in Mechanical Engineering from the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee where he also completed his coursework for a Ph.D. in Mechanical Engineering.

Farrow returned to Marquette University in 1981 to pursue his passion for teaching. He served as a professor in the School of Engineering and helped develop the school’s Industrial Engineering Program. In 1989, he took his teaching expertise to MSOE and was quickly appointed chair of the Mechanical Engineering Department.

In 1998, Farrow took a brief detour from teaching when Gov. Thompson appointed him to a three-year term on the Wisconsin Public Service Commission. In February 2004, when MSOE became the state of Wisconsin Affiliate University for Project Lead The Way (PLTW), Farrow assumed the additional duties as affiliate director. He was awarded the Educator of the Year Award in October 2006 for his work with PLTW. He retired from MSOE in 2008 and that same year, MSOE conferred an honorary doctorate upon Farrow in recognition of his accomplishments at MSOE and in the field of engineering.

Farrow was an active member of many professional organizations, serving on both the local and national levels. He was very active in the Quality Audit Technical Committee and the Product Liability Loss Prevention committee of ASQC. He published many papers and articles and received a number of awards for his contributions. In 1996, he was named Engineer of the Year by the Engineers and Scientists of Milwaukee.

Farrow will always be remembered for his kindness, generosity and commitment to education. He leaves a lasting legacy as an educator, engineer, mentor and friend. His influence at MSOE will be forever cherished and continue to be felt for years to come.