Michael Farmer was a friend of mine. He grew up in the Pleasant Grove community near Riverside. His father, Houston Farmer, was a sign painter who, accompanied by Mike, painted "Harbin's Peaches" and a peach on the front of my father's peach packing shed. His grandmother partially raised mike and his two brothers. She would also bring me water to drink in the adjacent field on our lower farm while I was plowing. My father, Arthur Harbin, was killed nearby on the same farm by an overturned tractor accident during my freshman year in Law School.
I have enjoyed knowing Mike, not only as a friend but having represented him, throughout my 52 years of practicing law having made his last Will and Testament only in December before Christmas.
During the first part of the year of 2001 Mike called requesting that I allow Kinley, his daughter, then a junior at Furman, to shadow me that summer since she thought she might like to become a lawyer. She worked with me that summer, graduated from Furman, attended Law School and was admitted to the Washing Bar. I am informed that she now is employed working for the Government in Washington.
I have had the distinct honor and pleasure of knowing and working for and with Mike since his original employment with a chemical company, his years teaching at Riverside, Greenville Tech and the Governor's School for the Arts.
I was in total shock when I learned of his tragic death. He was one of a kind and I treasure having known and been associated with him throughout our lives.
Contributed by Eddie Harbin
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