Geoffrey A. Faerber ’98
.jpg)
Geoffrey A. Faerber, 36, of Emigrant, MT, died September 25, 2011.
Faerber graduated from Cathedral High School and Wabash, where he was a member of the basketball team and Sigma Chi fraternity.
He loved the mountains and was a true adventurer at heart, having once kayaked from Montana to the Gulf of Mexico.
Geoff and his wife own The Flying Pig Adventure Company in Gardiner, MT.
He is survived by his wife, Liza Faerber; sons, Myles and Kenyon; parents, Pam and George Faerber; and sister, Ginger.
A Remembrance
“A hero is an ordinary individual who finds the strength to persevere and endure in spite of overwhelming obstacles.”—Christopher Reeve
Geoff Faerber was my hero.
I realize that this is a title typically reserved for those who save lives, fight in a war, or perform brave deeds.
Geoff was my hero because he lived life like no other.
The moment I met him as a freshman at Wabash, I realized that Geoff was an exceptional leader—one who could make you believe in yourself and make you feel like life had no limitations. At Wabash, Geoff was more than a great teammate; through his leadership and positive attitude he helped turn around a basketball program because he had the ability to see greater potential in everything and everyone.
With his entrepreneurial spirit he started a T-shirt company on campus. You may be surprised to find tucked away somewhere in a drawer one of those shirts he produced for different events and sport teams. He impacted so many of us, whether we recognized it at the time or not.
Graduating from Wabash in 1998, most of our class went on to the ‘real world’ or pursued postgraduate degrees. Not Geoff. His passion for the outdoors always seemed to flourish as a physical challenge. He decided to lead a kayak trip from Yellowstone National Park down to New Orleans. The Achieve Your Dreams Expedition was a 3,200 mile journey that, in the process of proving you could accomplish anything you set your mind to, also raised $150,000 for youth programs.
Then Geoff returned to Gardiner, MT, where he bought a small camp store at the north entrance to Yellowstone National Park. He met his lovely wife, Liza. Together they added on a rafting company, several vacation rentals, and developed partnerships with other adventure companies in town to offer a comprehensive vacation experience in the Yellowstone and Big Sky country. They called their company Flying Pig Adventure Company for the notion that “anything is possible.”
This endeavor fit Geoff’s personality exceptionally well; he was able to share his life passions with other travelers and thrill seekers while also offering raft guides, including several Wabash students, an opportunity to grow as young leaders. As one of those students, Nic Bitting ’07 wrote after two summers with Geoff, “He has an uncanny ability for turning
his passion for adventure into enriching experiences for others.”
His life may seem short, but he lived it fully. He kayaked from Yellowstone to the Gulf of Mexico, biked from Rome to Jerusalem and from Chili to Argentina. He rode his bike in Africa, Greece, Turkey, and Croatia, then he trekked the countryside of Patagonia. Geoff kayaked the Northwest Pacific Coast and in remote islands off Thailand, and he skied almost every day of every winter.
Geoff did all of this in spite of battling serious bouts of depression and anxiety for years. Every day I’ve known Geoff, he has fought to stay positive and overcome those awful demons of depression. Not many people in his life saw this side of him; he desperately wanted to remain strong and be there for anyone who needed him.
Despite this adversity, Geoff was able to accomplish so much in his lifetime while positively influencing so many. He encouraged others to believe in themselves, that any dream is achievable, and that every moment of life is an adventure. I think we all should strive to be just a little more like Geoff.
—Kevin Gearhart ’98