LaMar Farnsworth

A. LaMar Farnsworth was a zoologist and former long-term zoo director. He was born in Mountain Home, Utah, and trained in zoology at both Brigham Young University and the University of Utah. He started working at Hogle Zoo in Salt Lake City in 1953 and became director in 1964. He retired in 1997, having spent forty-four years employed at the zoo. At the time of his retirement, he was the longest-standing zoo director in the United States. James E. Hogle Jr., then chairman of the board, said, “This zoo is what it is today because of LaMar. What you see today in the way of structures, animals, and species—that is LaMar’s legacy.”[1] He oversaw growing the zoo to 1,400 animals and usually took in animals that were not wanted at other zoos. The A. LaMar Farnsworth Primate Forest at the Hogle Zoo was dedicated to him.

Farnsworth was a charter member and a former member of the governing board of the American Zoo and Aquarium Association. He was also a member of the International Union of Directors of the Zoological Garden World Zoo Organization and secretary of the International Zoo Culturists Society.

He was a member of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. Farnsworth passed away in 2019. His wife, Hazel, passed away in 2021. They were the parents of six children.