David Fargen Obituary

David Fargen
May 4, 1953 - March 29, 2025
David M. Fargen Age 71, of Boston. We are heartbroken at the loss of our dear friend, brother, cousin and uncle, who died Saturday, March 29, at Tufts Medical Center in Boston after a brief battle with cancer. He lived a full, purposeful life, and we feel both loss and the warmth of his spirit. Mass of Christian Burial will be held at 10 a.m., July 8, 2025 in Pierre at Ss. Peter & Paul Catholic Church with burial following at Mount Calvary Cemetery. His service may also be viewed online at www.feigumfh.com.
David was a transportation planner with the Massachusetts Central Transportation Planning Staff for 30 years, a world traveler, instant friend to many who met him, excellent home cook and supporter of Democratic causes. A lifelong learner, he spoke several languages and was recently studying Italian.
David always had a yearning for adventure and spent his life exploring the world, but he never lost sight of his Pierre roots. Despite spending much of his adult life in Boston, he chose his final resting place to be Mount Calvary Cemetery in Pierre.
David was raised in a small pink house on Erskine Avenue in Pierre and grew up with five siblings. His father, Leo Fargen, died when David was two, so he was raised by his beloved mother, Adele Fargen. David was a 1971 graduate of T.F. Riggs High School and enjoyed attending class reunions. He maintained contact with high school classmates as well as extended family in Flandreau, South Dakota, and Wisconsin, where his aunts, Srs. Ellen and Cabrini lived.
David's sense of adventure and curiosity led him around the country and the globe. A pivotal moment in his life was when he joined the Peace Corps after college, spending 1983-1985 in Togo, Africa, teaching agricultural techniques in rural villages. David settled in Boston in the 1980s after graduate school in California and planning work in Reno, Nevada.
David had friends from Turkey to South Korea to Italy and across the United States. In retirement, he often drove cross country unhurried, always stopping in Pierre to see friends and family. David loved cooking and baking and in Rome recently learned to make pasta.
David was a lifelong Catholic. He was a faithful parishioner at the Basilica of Our Lady of Perpetual Help Catholic Church in Boston; he was a 33-year Friend of Bill W.
David is survived by his brother, Tom Fargen (Linda Fargen) of Glenrock, WY; his sister, Lexi Wangsness, of Sioux Falls, his sister, Terese Fargen (Van Stewart), of Onida; as well as many nieces and nephews. He was a cherished godfather to his great nephew Daniel D. Walsh of Lincoln, NE, the son of David's niece, Jessica Walsh. He was also godfather to Cassidy Glascock, son of his close friends, Bryan Glascock and Lisa Modecker, of Boston. David is also survived by many dear friends in the Boston area, including Paul and Gretchen Locke, and Sara and Paul Fletcher. David was predeceased by his parents, Adele and Leo Fargen; his older brother, Dennis Michael Fargen; and younger brother, James Patrick Fargen.
Memorials can be made in David's honor to the Peace Corps. Condolences may be conveyed to the family at www.feigumfh.com.