Robert Farrell

Robert D. Farrell Schenectady - Kind, ever-curious and dependably upbeat throughout his long life, Robert D. Farrell, 96, passed away peacefully at home on April 23.
Bob and his beloved wife, Peg, who cared for him until the end, remained close to their blended family of nine children, 15 grandchildren and 16 great-grandchildren. Bob and Peg were a couple in constant motion during their 40-year marriage. They were globe-trotters, making countless trips around North America and visited all seven continents. They stopped counting the countries they visited when the tally reached 70.
Born and raised in Glens Falls, Bob enrolled at Dartmouth College, served in the Army in Europe after World War II and graduated from Dartmouth in 1950 with a degree in zoology. He enrolled in the Intensive Teacher Training Program offered at Siena College and in 1953 began a 14-year run teaching fifth and sixth grades in the Loudonville Elementary School. Bob continued his studies while teaching, working second jobs and helping to raise four children. He earned a master's degree in elementary education then received the certification he needed for the next chapter in his career: 23 years as an elementary school principal. By the time he retired in 1990 with 37 years of service in the North Colonie district, he had spent 11 years at Goodrich, seven at Forts Ferry and five at Southgate.
Bob and Peg promptly celebrated the start of his retirement with a four-month journey through Northwest Canada and Alaska, traveling 18,500 miles by road and another 5,000 miles on Alaska's state ferries. That trip was just a warm-up for their ensuing two-plus decades of touring the world.
One of the great joys of Bob's life was his family. He and Peg treated each one of the grandchildren to their own special trip when they turned 14. Those journeys took Bob, Peg and their grandchildren around the United States and abroad. Each trek was different and Bob made a photo album and a comprehensive journal that he gifted to the child the following Christmas.
In retirement, Bob and Peg lived high on a hill in Esperance, where he tended to a sprawling vegetable garden. He was a Master Gardener for the Fonda-Fultonville Cornell Extension for more than 20 years and spent 10 years as a member of the Esperance Historic Society.
Bob and Peg shared a deep love for the outdoors and spent many happy days camping, hiking and paddling.
Bob is survived by his wife, Peg, his children: Kathy (Mike) Kane; Nancy (Bob) Jones; James (Robin); Jill Carr, seven grandchildren and six great grandchildren. Bob also considered Peg's five children and their families as his own. Peg's daughters, Nancy and Ann Tedeschi, Nancy's son Michael Vopelak and Peg's grandson Jason Muller were especially close.
Bob's family will celebrate him privately. Contributions in Bob's memory may be made to Doctors Without Borders