View cenotaph HERE.

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Clay Patrick Farr
1985 - 2006
Spc. Clay Patrick Farr was a Cavalry Scout, in the U.S. Army. He was killed in action on February 26, 2006, in Baghdad, Iraq. Burial will take place at Arlington National Cemetery. A memorial service will be held in Bakersfield, CA. Visitation will be held at Hillcrest Memorial Park on Friday, March 3, 2006, from 4:00 - 8:00 p.m. The community is invited, and encouraged, to bring mementos to be placed inside the memorial casket which will then be interred along side his fiancee, Sara Ransom, who was killed in an automobile accident on February 9, 2004. The memorial service will be held on March 4, 2006, at 1:00 p.m., at Valley Baptist Church, located at Hagman and Fruitvale Ave. with graveside services immediately following. Clay was born in Bakersfield, CA. He attended grammar school at Loudon, Discovery, and Endeavour Schools. He then attended Fruitvale Jr. and Centennial High schools, graduating in 2003. Upon graduation, Clay immediately enlisted in the U.S. Army as a Cavalry Scout, and began basic training at Fort Knox, KY, in January of 2004. After completing basic training and then cavalry scout school, Clay was assigned to Fort Polk, LA, where he immediately volunteered for combat duty in Iraq. However, the units at Fort Polk were not taking volunteers and Clay requested to be transferred to a base that was taking volunteers. He was then transferred to the 10th Mountain Division, Fort Drum, NY. Upon arrival there, Clay again volunteered for combat duty in Iraq. However, the 10th Mtn. Division was forming new units and Clay was not deployed to Iraq until August of 2005. Clay loved his country and loved serving in the Army. He was a fearless soldier. Clay's goal after his service in the Army was to become a deputy in the Kern County Sheriff's Department. Clay was a member of the Kern County Sherrif's Explorer's Unit and had attained the rank of Senior Explorer while he was in High School. He loved to go on ride-along patrols with the Sheriff Deputies. Clay's family would like to extend special thanks to Deputy Dusty Rhodes and family, Cmdr. Rocky Lascertoso, Sheriff Carl Sparks, Sheriff Mack Wimbish, LTC Art Wilbur, U.S. Army Ret. LTC Steve Rodriguez, USAR, Maj. David Long USAR, and the countless others who have given Clay and his family support while Clay has been deployed and now during this sorrowful time. Clay was preceded in death by his fiancee, Sara Ransom; grandfather, Bill Bristow; great-grandfathers, DC Baccus, Lee Pierce and Dr. Carroll Goss; great-grandmothers, Alice Baccus, Thelma Goss and Jesse Pierce; great-uncles, Charles Baccus and Johnny Baccus. Clay is survived by his parents, Patrick and Silver Farr; mother, Carroll Alderete; and special mother, Gail Santora; brother, Chad Farr; and stepsister, Amanda Cope and future brother-in-law, Curt Perryman; great-grandmothers, Melanie Bristow and Alice Farr; grandparents, Waltina Farr, Jim and Jeannette Pierce; great-aunts and uncles, Dee Baccus, Jim and Louise McKee and Bob and Evelyn Sadler, Doris and Wesley Brown; aunts and uncles, Dennis and Mary Burke, Paul Farr, Wesley Bristow, Janie Mason and Lace Bopp; cousins, Katrina and Tim Burke, Jimmy and Andy Mason, Kaitlyn and Colby Powers, Cody and Courtney Salyards, Daniel (Pepper) Hackendahl and Shawn Kidwell; extended family; aunts and uncles, Jeff and Jennifer Powers, Darrell and Janet Brightwell, Karen Vanderhurst; cousins, Austin, Dakota and Shasta Brightwell, Kacy, Josh and Kevin Santora, Christopher and Stacy Vanderhurst; friends, Jared Russell, Jason Brown, Mark Abernathy, Kent Kniffen, Jay, Regina, Megan and Joshua Ransom. Clay Patrick Farr Feb. 19, 1985 - Feb. 26, 2006 Legacy.com

Published in the Bakersfield Californian on 3/2/2006