McFarland was praised by fellow state senators for jumping in right away and making his voice heard when he took over for Beutler. One of the issues he advocated for as a senator was protection for college athletes in agent deals.
After his term as a senator expired, McFarland did not run for reelection. He later ran in Nebraska’s Democratic gubernatorial primary in 1998, but was defeated by Bill Hoppner.
McFarland also served six years on the Board of Directors of the NFL Former Players Association, where he advocated for greater resources for former players to transition to other careers. After retiring from law in 2017, he moved to Omaha and earned a master’s degree in fiction writing from Creighton University.
A Celebration of Life will be held Wednesday at 11 a.m. Due to COVID-19 precautions, the service will be private but the family welcomes all to view a broadcast of the service by going to www.johnagentleman.com/obituaries and clicking on the link found within Jim McFarland’s obituary listing.
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Reach the writer at lstephens@journalstar.com or 402-473-7241.
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