Richard D. Farroh

Born in 1953, Richard Farroh was raised in Williston, ND. Richard was a man of many talents. While in Williston, Richard worked as a contractor during the first oil boom in the early 1980’s. He learned to be a skilled builder and mechanic (In fact, he practically remodeled parts of my first home). Like Kevin Spaeth, Richard also was a great guitar player and continued to perform with his band several times a year. Richard also became a licensed pilot and moved to Grand Forks and attended UND where he graduated with a degree in Aviation. Richard took this unique set of skills to the UND School of Law from which he graduated in 1993.

After law school, Richard opened a small law office in Grand Forks. I first met Richard Farroh in 1997. Richard’s office was across the hall from Lyle Moe’s, which means Richard’s office ultimately became across the hall from my own when I purchased Lyle Moe out in 1999. So, other than the four and half years I was downtown in the Spaeth Law Firm, Richard Farroh’s office was in close proximity of mine for alot of years. Richard became a trusted friend and colleague. While we did have some overlap in practice areas, we, for the most part, complimented each others practice areas well. Richard would frequently refer me business outside of his area (for instance criminal and divorce) while I sent him thing outside of mine (for instance bankruptcy). Richard would also have me appointed as Guardian Ad Litem on most of the guardianship matters he handled. I probably served as a Guardian Ad Litem on his files at least two hundred times and found some of that work to be the most rewarding of my career. He also seemed to have a legal form for any occassion and was always generous with them when I came calling. Not a week goes by when either my wife and I don’t say how much we miss having Richard available to use as a sounding board.

The day after we attended Lyle Moe’s funeral together in October, 2014, Richard wasn’t feeling well and was taken to the hospital. The next day he underwent emergency open heart surgery, but his heart was to weak to be taken off the machines. After being flown to St. Mary’s Hospital in Rochester, MN, Richard passed away at the far to young age of 61. He left behind his wife, Linda, and their two children.