Letitia ‘Tish’ Lorenson Farris

Letitia ‘Tish’ Lorenson Farris passed away Monday, April 27, 2026, at Sarah Bush Lincoln Health Center in Mattoon, IL.

Letitia was born May 13, 1951, in Decatur, IL, the daughter of Robert Lawrence and Leila (Taylor) Lorenson.

She graduated from Lovington High School and from Millikin University, where she was a member of Zeta Tau Alpha, a women’s fraternity. She majored in Spanish and studied in Spain to increase her proficiency before teaching Spanish at Tower Hill and Atwood-Hammond High Schools. She then received a masters’ degree in guidance and counseling.

Letitia married David Farris of Sullivan on July 29, 1972. He survives in Arthur.

The couple resided in Hammond until they moved to rural Arthur after Letitia became the CUSD #305 guidance counselor.

Letitia was known for her brilliant mind.

She was also known for her love of cats, her love of teaching and counseling, and her giving heart.

Her love of cats was an obsession with Letitia. She cared for them as if they were her babies. She donated to the Moultrie County PAWS group, worked to find homes for unwanted animals, and helped pay their vet bills.

Letitia’s best known quality is her giving heart. These are some of the ways she helped people of all ages.

To honor her parents and help deserving ALHS, then ALAHHS seniors, Letitia established the Robert and Leila Lorenson Scholarship, giving multiple seniors each awards yearly.

She helped fund the yearly senior class trip.

When she was the district’s elementary-through-high-school counselor, Letitia bought rocking chairs and stuffed animals to help comfort the younger children she counseled.

For a unique Career Day for the high school students, Letitia arranged for outside speakers – usually district graduates – and faculty members to talk to the students about their careers. Then she and the high school FCCLA classes provided all of them with a free homemade lasagna meal. This promoted fellowship among the faculty, too.

Since Letitia loved to knit, she organized the Knit Knights Club at the high school to teach interested faculty and students how to knit. She provided the supplies. She also knitted afghans and baby blankets for former students and faculty friends.

For many years Letitia and David bought books, tablets, toothbrushes, toys, clothing, etc. to fill shoe boxes for Samaritan’s Purse’s Operation Christmas Child. They bought plastic boxes because those were bigger and held more than traditional shoeboxes did. Their goal was to fill 100 boxes a year. They reached that goal in 2024.

After she retired, Letitia continued to support programs that promoted at-home reading. She established Dolly Parton’s Imagination Library in all elementary schools in District #305. She donated the money to buy all the high quality, age-appropriate books. The children in the district received these free books monthly in the mail from birth until age five, regardless of income, if the parents signed them up for the program. She also donated books to other school districts.

To encourage reading in the older students, Letitia started The White Cat program for students five years old through eighth grade, who each received free books every month. Her White Cat Program also bought all of the books for the district-wide Knightly Reading Program. She funded three sets of books for each elementary school’s Monarch group, the district’s youngest group of students; three sets for the district’s intermediate Bluestem group; and a collection of books for junior high and high school students.

In the district’s schools that accepted them, Letitia put book vending machines where students could cash their good behavior reward coins for new books.

At Christmas, she and friends threw Christmas Cookie Parties for all the district elementary students, giving them a variety of cookies and fruit, assuring that all got to celebrate Christmas with at least one party.

She helped fund the Backpack Program, which gave backpacks filled with food for the students to take home over weekends and school breaks. Letitia also bought commercial-sized ice machines for district schools that needed them.

Letitia cared deeply for others, especially children and those in need. Her generosity was amazing.

Letitia is survived by her husband David in Arthur, and many nieces and nephews. She is preceded in death by her parents.

Graveside services to celebrate Letitia’s life will be Wednesday, May 6, 2026, at 1:30 p.m. at Turner Cemetery, Lovington, IL, with Danny Powell officiating. Arrangements by Reed Funeral Home in Sullivan.

Online condolences may be sent to the family at reedfuneralhome.net.

Memorials are suggested to Moultrie County PAWS, P. O. Box 961, Mattoon, IL 61938, the Lorenson Scholarship Fund at First State Bank, 200 Don Ryan St., Hammond, IL 61929, or other organizations of your choosing.