ATLANTA — The WSB-TV family is mourning the loss of a colleague and friend, longtime Channel 2 anchor Don Farmer.
He is also the father of current WSB-TV anchor Justin Farmer.
Don was known for so many things in his life, among them being a legendary journalist at WSB-TV and on network television. He was on the anchor desk for 10 years at WSB-TV before retiring from his illustrious television news career.
[READ: Longtime WSB-TV news anchor Don Farmer dies at 82]
“Don will be missed because he was a wonderful reporter, great writer, a hardworking anchor and most importantly, he was a person who cared about his craft,” said Monica Pearson, who shared the anchor desk with Farmer during his time at WSB-TV.
“He covered so much, all over the world. So, he had this portfolio experience. He knew how to cover the news, he knew how to tell a news story and he wanted it to be as good as it could possibly be,” said colleague and longtime WSB-TV anchor John Pruitt.
“Don was the consummate professional, got everything right, wanted to make sure everything was right, so the viewers trusted WSB, trusted Don Farmer. What he said was the truth,” said Chief Meteorologist Glenn Burns, who worked alongside Farmer during his years at WSB-TV.
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Before his decade at WSB-TV, Farmer’s reporting took him around the world.
In 1965, ABC News hired Farmer, which he called “a dream come true”.
He was based in New York City, becoming a network correspondent at the age of 26, one of the youngest ever hired.
On only his fifth day, ABC sent farmer to Alabama to cover civil rights demonstrations. That began his coverage of the historic movement and assassination of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.
He then worked at ABC’s midwest bureau in Chicago, then the southern bureau in Atlanta.
While on assignment, he met Chris Curle, the woman who would become his wife of 49 years.
The two married two years later, then moved to London, where Farmer continued to report for ABC.
Then in 1980, when Ted Turner created CNN, he hired Don and Chris to be among their first anchors. Then he found his home at WSB-TV.
“When I found out the day Don Farmer was going to come work here with Chris Curle, I mean … they’re legends in the business,” Burns said.
“He wanted to make sure that that viewer, understood the story in the best way, and to him, writing was everything,” Pearson said.
In all, Farmer covered news in 81 countries across six continents.
Outside of work, he loved spending time with his family.
He served for six years in the U.S. Army Reserves and he loved baseball.
The Atlanta Braves became his adopted hometown team.
Don passed away in Naples, Florida at the age of 82. He has a large family mourning his loss including his wife Chris, his daughter Laurie and of course his son and our friend Justin.
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