At one point in time, Frank Farrar was a rising political star. As noted by the Rapid City Journal, he was even given the nickname "boy wonder." But ultimately, despite the rise, his political fall would come along with haste.

After taking office as the top elected official in South Dakota, he set out to make some changes. How history would view them is another question, but at the time, they were rather unpopular. After leaving office, he became regarded as a statesman for the rest of his life.

Passed away on October 31, 2021

Frank Farrar has died, reports KELO.

His passing comes almost 30 years after he was diagnosed with terminal blood cancer. Farrar and his wife would continue to be active in fitness and athletics. Which Farrar would later give credit to for beating the initial survival odds.

Farrar received a bachelor's degree from the University of South Dakota. And he also later graduated from what was then the University of South Dakota College of Law. He served in the United States Army, including during the Korean War, eventually retiring as a captain. Along with his military service, Farrar worked as an agent with the Internal Revenue Service.

His political career began in the late 1950s. Farrar became a judge in Marshall County in northeastern South Dakota.

The following year, he was named as a state's attorney for the same county.

A Republican, Farrar was first elected to be attorney general of South Dakota in 1962. He was re-elected to the office in 1964 and again in 1966. In 1968, incumbent Republican Governor Nils Boe would not run for re-election. Although he would take a position with the White House, followed by a lengthy career as a federal judge.

Farrar won the race to succeed Boe as South Dakota's governor. His career seemed to be flying high, but that would not ultimately last long. Among the initiatives Farrar took on included tax and energy policy reforms. His choosing to increase the state's sales tax did not go over well at the time. Nor did his successful push to implement energy regulations.

Which seems to have particularly irked rural electric and gas companies in the state.

In 1970, Farrar lost his re-election bid to Democratic State Senator Richard F. Kneip. Kneip would later on be named as the United States ambassador to Singapore by President Jimmy Carter.

After leaving the governorship, Frank Farrar would again become a popular figure in South Dakota. In 2006, he was inducted as a member of the South Dakota Hall of Fame. Aside from his fitness-related pursuits, Farrar's other ensuing interests would include banking, farming and charitable causes.

Died on the anniversary of his wife's passing

Frank Farrar's death occurred six years to the day that he lost his wife of more than 50 years.

He and his wife, the former Patricia Henley, had five children. She died from Parkinson's disease and Lewy body dementia.

Whether or not Frank's death was directly linked to blood cancer was not immediately made clear. He was at the Mayo Clinic in Rochester, Minnesota; where he'd been treated for it previously.