PHYLLIS FARLEY

1924 - 2020

FARLEY--Phyllis Rothschild, died at 2:30am on February 29th, peaceful and encircled by love. She was born on May 27, 1924, the daughter of Walter Nathan Rothschild, CEO of Abraham & Straus, and of Carola Warburg Rothschild, whose parents, Felix and Frieda Warburg, gave their home at 1109 Fifth Avenue to become The Jewish Museum. She was the passionate mother of Christopher, Frederick (Alexandra), Alexander (Tsisnami), and Elliot (Therese O'Neill) Peters, beloved Grandy of Clelia, Rachael, Jack, Courtney, Mattison, Eian, Maude, and Louisa, and great-grand- mother of Owen, Emmet, Morgan, Naomi, Felix, Xander, and Frederica. Phyllis was predeceased by her husband Philip Farley and her ex-husband C. Brooks Peters. She was a woman of extraordinary accomplishment with an unwavering commitment to humanity. She served for many years as Chairman of the Board of her beloved alma mater Sarah Lawrence College; she worked with Ruth Watson Lubic to create the first out-of-hospital midwife assisted delivery center for women at The Maternity Center Association in New York City (for which she and Mrs. Lubic received the prestigious Rockefeller Award for Public Service from Princeton University); and she created the innovative Doulas To Accompany and Comfort program, training volunteers to support and ease the passage of people dying alone in hospitals. This work earned her much press attention and spurred The Jewish Board of Family and Children's Services, the institution through which the program was designed and implemented, to honor her at its 2005 Gala. Phyllis loved dogs, her family, horses, her friends, and both German and Italian opera. She was a complex and indomitable spirit, whose last spoken words, fittingly, were "MY way!" We shall not look upon her like again. Donations in Ms. Farley's name can be made to The Doula Program to accompany and comfort at www.doulaprogram.org