William F. Farber, Sr., Crystal Lake, Carbondale, died unexpectedly at home March 13, 2016. He was the former Chairman of the Board, President and Chief Executive Officer of CommBancorp Inc. and Community Bank & Trust Company, Clarks Summit. The Bank was purchased by First National Bank of Pennsylvania in 2010 at which time he retired from banking. He was born March 12, 1937 the youngest of eight children of Philip E. Farber, Sr. and Madolyn Cerra Farber. He graduated from Ben Franklin High School, Carbondale, and attended Penn State, Scranton. He was a member of the Pennsylvania National Guard and attended officer's candidate school, Fort Benning, Georgia and served as a 1st Lieutenant in the National Guard. As a young man he was anxious to get a start in the business world. His first job was as a surveyor with John Hennemuth, Engineers, and worked on the Prompton and Dyberry Dams. However, he always had his eye on the restaurant business and decided to get experience in that field by working for those in the area with successful restaurants. This led him to work for Dom Zazzera, the Crystal Lake Hotel and Pettinato's Restaurant which solidified his decision to concentrate his energies in that field. His first restaurant venture was the Finch Hill Restaurant and Tastee Freeze. Located at the crossroads between Carbondale and Crystal Lake, he provided good food and service and got to know his customers, a quality he exhibited throughout his business career. He then made a significant decision when he took over operation of the Penn Can Restaurant at the Harford Exit of I-81. It was a major change in that he was now serving food 24-hours per day, seven days a week. He met this challenge well and with the success of Penn Can, he became the operator of Scott 60 Restaurant at the Scott exit of I-81, another 24-7 food and truck service center. His success at the two truck stops brought his qualities to the attention of the owners of the Elk Mountain Ski Center who sought him to run the seasonal food service at their ski lodge. He took on this challenge with his usual drive and made many changes over the years including the establishment of the sit-down, white linen cloth Winter Garden Restaurant in the Lodge. He headed Elk Mountain food service for 31 years from 1959 to 1990. His business enterprises and his financial abilities were noticed by Benjamin Franceski, President of First & Farmers National Bank of Forest City, where he did much of his banking business. In 1970, Mr. Farber was named to the Board of Directors of that bank. Mr. Farber saw the business possibilities of the bank expanding in this territory and became instrumental in having the bank open its first branch office in Simpson in 1972. The success of the Simpson office led the Board to begin looking at adding more branches. In order to more fully identify the bank as a part of the area community, the bank changed its name to Community National Bank. It remained a national bank for a number of years but when it began to add many more branches it saw that the national charter was restricting its ability to expand and provide more services so the Board converted to a state charter and in the process changed its name to Community Bank & Trust Company. During this time, his drive and determination led the Board to name him vice-chairman. As the bank looked at adding branches and enlarging its territory, it began to consider expansion by purchasing another Northeastern Pennsylvania Bank. Thus in 1988, Mr. Farber assisted Board members negotiate the merger of the First National Bank of Nicholson. This added offices in Nicholson, Tunkhannock, Montrose, Factoryville, Lake Winola and Eaton Township. Mr. Farber was elected Chairman of the Board, President and Chief Executive Officer of the institution in 1995. During his tenure on the Board, the bank expanded to 16 branches extending from Montrose to Tannersville and reached asset growth of almost $700 million. The bank moved its corporate headquarters in 1998, in an effort to exhibit a strong presence in Lackawanna County, to Clarks Summit where he had his office. The bank continued to grow through the first decade of the 21st century including building and remodeling several branches and increasing its employee level to 110. The stress of the 2008 economic crisis put new challenges on small banks. In April of 2010, as President and CEO, he and the Board began exploring a possible merger or purchase. In August, 2010, he and Board members negotiated the sale of the bank to First National Bank of Pennsylvania. When the merger was completed January 1, 2011, he retired from banking. He is a lifetime member of Our Lady of Mt. Carmel Church, Carbondale. He was a member and past president of Elkview County Club where he continued to be an active member until his death. He served on the Board of Lackawanna River Basin Sewer Authority and president of that Board for four years. He was past president of the Carbondale Chapter of UNICO and past president of the Boards of both Carbondale General Hospital and St. Joseph's Hospital. He was instrumental in the merger of the two hospitals. He was partner/owner of Forest City Nursing and Rehabilitation Center and the Forest City Personal Care Home from the time of their establishment in the 1980's until 2014. He was also an avid Yankee fan. He is survived by his fianc, Sally Marquez; children, William F. Farber, Jr. and wife Faith Ann, Crystal Lake; Robert W. Farber and wife Roxanne, Carbondale; grandsons, William F. Farber, III and wife Lauren, Greenfield Township, and Bryton L. Farber, Crystal Lake and companion Brittany Snedeker; granddaughters, Gabrielle M. Farber and companion Dominick Bosi and Brianna K. Farber, Carbondale; great grandchildren Sophia Grace and Brayden William Farber, Greenfield Township; a sister Patricia Smith, Stroudsburg, several nieces, nephews and cousins. He was preceded in death by three brothers, Joseph, Phillip and Francis; and three sisters, Angela Parise, Rose Marie Grippo and Madolyn Frailey. The funeral was held Friday, March 18, 2016 at 9:30 a.m. from the Carmine J. & Louis C. Parise Funeral Home and Cremation Services, Inc., Farview and 41st Streets, Carbondale, with a Mass of Christian Burial at 10:00 a.m. in Our Lady of Mount Carmel Church, 15 Fallbrook Street, Carbondale, celebrated by Rev. Joseph F. Sica, pastor of Immaculate Conception Church, Scranton and Deacon Edward Casey. Entombment, Our Mother of Sorrows Cemetery, Greenfield Township. Pallbearers: Bryton Farber, William Farber, III., Joseph Farber, Jr., Charles Farber, Phillip Farber, III., Joseph Parise, III. and Rodney Baechtold. Friends called Thursday, March 17, 2016 from 4-8 p.m. In lieu of flowers, memorial contributions were made to the Greater Carbondale YMCA, 82 N. Main Street, Carbondale, PA 18407 or Our Lady of Mount Carmel Church, 15 Fallbrook Street, Carbondale, PA 18407 Visitation at Funeral Home 4:00 pm - 8:00 pm Thursday, March 17, 2016 Carmine J. & Louis C. Parise Funeral Home & Cremation Services, Inc. 89 Farview Street Carbondale, Pennsylvania, United States 18407 Mass 10:00 am Friday, March 18, 2016 Our Lady Of Mount Carmel Church 15 Fallbrook Street Carbondale, Pennsylvania, United States 18407