Thomas Farrell liked to get people thinking differently, and in the lecture halls of Northwestern University, he had the perfect audience.
Whether raising questions about movies, music or politics, Mr. Farrell was “constantly challenging people to think in different ways; it was his nature,” said David Zarefsky, a fellow professor of communication studies at Northwestern.
But Mr. Farrell was careful not to damage an ego. His goal was education.
“He had a way of challenging an idea while preserving the integrity of the person who held it. Not a lot of professors can do this. It was a gift,” said Thomas Frentz, a former colleague who is now a professor at the University of Arkansas.
Mr. Farrell, 59, died of heart failure Monday, June 12, at his apartment in Evanston.
Mr. Farrell will be remembered for his 1993 book, “Norms of Rhetorical Culture,” which examined Aristotle’s theories and their contemporary relevance, Zarefsky said.
The book was chosen for the National Communication Association Winans-Wichelns award as book of the year in 1994, Zarefsky said.
Mr. Farrell commanded an amazing ability to translate rhetorical theories to practical life.
About two years after the Three Mile Island nuclear meltdown in 1979, Mr. Farrell co-wrote an article that explored the scientific and technical language used by government officials to cloud the magnitude of the disaster for the public, said his ex-wife, Vera Potapenko.
Mr. Farrell received his bachelor’s degree from the University of Wisconsin-Eau Claire before attending the University of Wisconsin-Madison, where he received his master’s and doctorate degrees, said his sister Rosemarie.
After graduation he moved to Los Angeles and taught at the University of Southern California for one year before taking a position at the University of California at Los Angeles. There he met Potapenko.
The couple moved to Evanston in 1976 after Mr. Farrell took a job as an assistant professor of communication studies at Northwestern. They married in 1978. In 1984, the same year his son was born, he became a full professor.They divorced in 2004.
A love for reading was something his father, a parking lot operator, and his mother, a nurse’s aide, instilled in Mr. Farrell at a young age at their home in Rochester, N.Y.
“As a boy, Tom read books and newspapers at the breakfast table before heading off to kindergarten,” his sister said.
As a senior in high school, Mr. Farrell traveled with the debate team to Omaha, where they won the National High School Debate Championship, she said.
“He was a born teacher and he shared everything that he learned with those around him,” his sister said.
Mr. Farrell, who loved history, music and poetry, and was a self-taught guitar player, did not restrict his job to the classroom; he was constantly working on ideas, his ex-wife said.
He combined several of those loves with his passion for rhetoric and created several popular classes at Northwestern, friends and family said.
“He seasoned his lectures with his wit and sense of humor. He was especially good working with grad students and was quick to step in and help when another member of the faculty was sick,” Zarefsky said.
Besides being a prominent academic, Mr. Farrell was a “regular guy who coached his son’s Little League team, was loyal to the Cubs and liked singing Bob Dylan and Neil Young songs,” said friend and former student Thomas Roach.
Mr. Farrell also is survived by his son, Thomas. Services have been held.
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mrdudek@tribune.com
