Lifelong Mendham Farmer, Great-Grandfather Dies at 86

MENDHAM, N.J. – Mendham has changed drastically in the last 80 years, and Frederick Backer, Sr. has seen all of it.

The lifelong Mendham farmer died recently at the age of 86.

Backer was born Aug. 11, 1929, on the Backer Farm in Mendham, where he lived his entire life farming and later raising a family.

He graduated Morristown High School at the age of 16 and went into fulltime farming for more than 70 years.

Backer is predeceased by his wife, Barbara, who died in 2004. The couple was married 53 years.

He is survived by his eight children, 18 grandchildren, and five great-grandchildren.

Backer loved his New York Yankees and was among the first class of inductees in the Mendham Hall of Fame in 2009 due to his life-long commitment of farming.

Memorial donations may be made to the Mendham Borough First Aid Squad, P.O. Box 131, Mendham, NJ 07945 or Mendham Township First Aid Squad, P.O. Box 520, Brookside, NJ 07926.