Pitching duels with the great Nolan Ryan in high school left Mark Farquhar with a lifetime of fond memories that included not only growing up in West Columbia but playing college baseball at Blinn Junior College in Brenham, Sul Ross University in Alpine and Hardin-Simmons University in Abilene. The former Columbia Roughnecks standout passed away July 31, 2023, in Tulsa, Oklahoma, concluding his valiant battle with Parkinson’s Disease. He was 76.

A celebration of life service will be held at South Tulsa Baptist Church, 10310 South Sheridan Road, in Tulsa, Oklahoma, at 3 p.m. Friday, August 11, 2023, with James Robinson and Paul Burleson officiating. The Cremation Society of Oklahoma is handling the arrangements.

Mark Steven Farquhar Sr. was born in West Columbia, Texas, on November 17, 1946. He was the son of Sonny and Wanda Farquhar and attended public schools in West Columbia from first grade through his senior year in high school. The 1965 graduate of Columbia High School was co-captain of the Roughnecks zone champion baseball team his senior year wearing the maroon and white. As a senior Mark was an all tournament pitcher at both the Wharton Tournament and the West Columbia Tournament, according to the 1965 Columbia High School Gusher yearbook.

Mark Farquhar, right, and catcher Mike Neff were all tournament selections at both the Wharton and West Columbia tournaments their senior year in the spring of 1965. Doug Balkum, a pitcher himself at TCU and when he played for the Roughnecks, was Columbia High School’s head baseball coach when Farquhar and Neff were standout players.

A multi-sport athlete, Mark Farquhar was also a member of the Roughnecks varsity basketball team his senior year under head coach George Barnett. Mark participated in football his sophomore and junior years in high school and ran track for the Roughnecks as a sophomore. His newspaper obituary says that “Mark played Little League Baseball and school baseball (in West Columbia), which earned him a scholarship to Blinn Junior College and later Sul Ross where he served as a relief pitcher and was a member of the Christian Athletics.”

Mark Farquhar was a member of the Sul Ross University baseball team that appeared in the College World Series, it is stated in the biographical information his family posted in his obituary. “Following Sul Ross’s decision to discontinue their baseball program after their College World Series appearance, Mark was heavily recruited by Hardin-Simmons University to be their star pitcher,” the obituary reveals.

“His prowess on the mound even attracted the attention of the Cincinnati Reds,” according to the recent obituary. “Unfortunately, an elbow injury prematurely ended his playing career, but this setback didn’t prevent him from transitioning into a successful coaching career. He relished recounting his high school encounter with Nolan Ryan — his sole loss and a fun anecdote. Mark’s dedication to the sport is immortalized on the Hall of Fame billboard at the West Columbia baseball field.”

Hall of Famer Nolan Ryan, the Major League’s all-time strikeout and no hitters leader whose professional career ended with more than 300 wins, pitched for Alvin High School in the mid-1960s when Mark Farquhar and his battery mate, catcher Mike Neff, were playing varsity baseball at Renfro Field for the Roughnecks. The late Mike Neff, who also played college baseball at Pan-Am University, told this writer many years ago that he hit a home run off of Nolan Ryan in high school, either in Alvin or West Columbia. Clay Hill, another Columbia High teammate of Neff and Farquhar, said Nolan threw so hard in high school that Clay could hardly see the baseball.

Mark Steven Farquhar Sr. pitched in high school for the Roughnecks, graduating from Columbia High School in 1965. He pitched in college at Blinn Junior College, Sul Ross University in Alpine and Hardin-Simmons University in Abilene.

Farquhar’s senior photo in the 1965 Columbia High School annual shows Mark pictured next to Thomas Alton “Tommy” Ferguson of Damon who was killed in action in the Vietnam War. Mike Neff survived Vietnam but was wounded in action and carried the scars, both physical and emotional, for the rest of his life. Mark Farquhar, Mike Neff and other deceased 1965 Columbia High classmates like Tommy Marshall, Gene Hightower, Larry “Frog” Anderson and Tommy Ferguson were small town heroes on the gridiron, basketball court, baseball field and in battle overseas.

Mark grew up in this small town, excelling in athletics and popular in school. He was a member of the First Baptist Church of West Columbia and he and his wife Stephanie were faithful members of South Tulsa Baptist Church in Oklahoma in recent years.
At Hardin-Simmons, Mark earned a Bachelor of Science degree in Education, majoring in English.
Mark’s other great love, his wife, Stephanie Hogan, came into his life through a blind date set up by his catcher. The couple married on May 23, 1970, in Abilene, Texas. “Over the next 53 years, they made countless memories while Mark coached and taught at schools in Sweeny, Bay City, Giddings, San Antonio Judson and Boerne,” his obituary reads. “He later shifted careers to insurance and financial planning in Lake Jackson, Texas.”
Mark and Stephanie were blessed with three children, and Mark took the opportunity to coach his boys at Metro Christian Academy in Tulsa, Oklahoma, while also serving as the General Agent of several insurance companies.
A devout Christian, Mark taught adult Sunday School classes at Skelly Drive Baptist and Liberty Church, always lending a hand in choir productions. Mark also served as a part of the Spiritual Enrichment Committee.

Mark Farquhar pictured with his bride of 53 years, Stephanie Hogan Farquhar

“He cherished family gatherings, Oklahoma State football and basketball games, golfing, and taking his grandchildren on tractor rides, ‘ according to the obituary.
After establishing and operating a successful insurance brokerage for more than 40 years, Mark retired in 2020 due to Parkinson’s disease. Under the care of Angel Care Hospice, he peacefully passed away from complications related to his illness on July 31, 2023, at Clairehouse.

Former Roughnecks multi-sport athlete Mark Farquhar Sr. (center) with his sons Mark Jr. and Jeff Farquhar

Mark was a devoted husband, father and son who leaves behind a powerful legacy of faith.
Mark is survived by his wife, Stephanie; sons, Mark Steven Farquhar Jr. (wife Kim) and C. Jeff Farquhar (wife Aimee); daughter Beth (husband Ken Petrashek); ten grandchildren (Mason, Raley and Keats Calhoun, Spencer and Maria, Kassie and Ryan Watson, Cade, Kylie, Caleb, Cannie, Cannon and Liv) and one great-grandchild (Levi). His sisters, Dayna (husband Gary King) and Donna (husband Kenneth Jones), also survive him, along with many nieces and nephews. He was predeceased by his parents and his grandparents.

Mark’s grandmother, Fannie Farquhar, will be fondly remembered by older West Columbians as the lady who sold the tickets for the movies being shown at The Capitol Theater in downtown West Columbia for so many years.