Beverly Farfsing

Sept. 3, 1928 - July 21, 2019 Beverly Farfsing, 90, died peacefully July 21 at an assisted living facility in San Gabriel, California, with family by her side. The cause was Alzheimer's disease. She was born September 3, 1928, at French Hospital in Los Angeles. Like her parents, Queenie Fraser Knipscheer and Robert Justin Knipscheer, Beverly grew up in Lincoln Heights, Los Angeles. She attended Lincoln High School and the University of Southern California, the first in her family to graduate from college (1952). She was a loving wife and mother. She married Eugene Sielen in 1948 at Sacred Heart Church in Lincoln Heights. They had three children: Alan (Virginia) Sielen of Granville, Ohio; Rae Jean (Ken St. Louis) Sielen, Morgantown, West Virginia; and Mark (Lisa) Sielen, Long Beach. Gene died in 1960. At the time, he was an elementary school principal in the Los Angeles Unified School District. The family had moved to Hastings Ranch in Pasadena in 1954 where Beverly lived until 1988. In 1962, at St. Rita's Church in Sierra Madre, Beverly married Charles Farfsing, a widower with three young children of his own: Julie Farfsing, Paso Robles; Kenneth (Rita) Farfsing, Alhambra; and Martin Farfsing, Altadena. Charlie and his family had moved to Pasadena from Cincinnati, Ohio. Their daughter Lynn (Randy) Ellis, Paso Robles, a welcome and enduring bridge within the blended family, arrived in 1964. Charles was principal cost estimator for Parsons Engineering, working on major construction projects like the Space Shuttle launch facility at Vandenberg Air Force Base. He died in 1996. In addition to her seven children, she is survived by her grandchildren, Laura Sielen Sobjack, Elizabeth Sielen O'Malley, Josh Venner, Kimberly Sielen, Andrew Sielen, Sam Farfsing, Rachel Farfsing, Nicole Ellis, and Ben Ellis; her great-grandchildren, Noah Sobjack, Helen Sobjack, and Clara Venner; and by her brother, Robert, and his wife, Bee Ann, of Eagle Rock, both of whom Beverly was especially close to throughout her life. Beverly was an elementary school teacher in Los Angeles East District for twenty-five years. Her first teaching job in 1952 was at Sheridan Street Elementary School in Boyle Heights. Of that first assignment, Beverly remembered, in particular, the many students in her fifth grade class who had survived concentration camps during the Second World War and were sponsored by families to come to the United States. She also taught at several other schools, including Gates Street School where she had attended kindergarten. Later in life, she enjoyed visiting her old neighborhood with her children. She also visited with her best friends from childhood, Betty and Louise, and recorded their reminiscences of a very special time and place. She had a long-standing interest in family history and genealogy, and preserved family stories and other information in Treasured Memories of a California Family, a book she privately published with help from her daughter Rae Jean and brother Bob. Beverly enjoyed nothing more than being with her family whether having everyone over for the world's greatest tacos, playing cards with her mom and dad and assorted relatives, or exploring the wild coast of Scotland with her granddaughters. Her kids remember her as strict but generous and loving; she was always 'game' ready for the next adventure despite life's challenges, not the least of which was raising seven children. She loved Pasadena and the San Gabriel Mountains and relished the clear view of the mountains she had up to her last days. She was an accomplished bridge player, and she delighted in the Rose Parade, the summer Olympics, SC football, the Pasadena Public Library, Vroman's Bookstore, and rides on the Balboa Island ferry and family Hobie Cat with her kids. In her retirement, she traveled throughout the United States, Canada, and Europe, including a memorable tour with Charlie through Normandy, Germany's Black Forest, and other areas associated with his time in the army during the Second World War. She was deeply devoted to her mother and father who would always be an important part of her life. Beverly was a lifelong Democrat, volunteering for many national, state, and local campaigns. She recalled how in 1932 her dad held her on his shoulders near Exposition Park to see FDR in his car when he campaigned in Los Angeles. Her children still enjoy thumbing through the album of Conrad cartoons she put together for them during the Watergate hearings in 1973. She supported a number of charities and civic organizations that resonated with her sense of justice, compassion for the less fortunate, and deep appreciation of the importance of a good education. This included her work as a volunteer tutor for children in the Pasadena public schools during retirement. Beverly's family believes she would be honored by a contribution to a charity of your choice in her memory. A memorial service at Mater Dolorosa Passionist Retreat Center in Sierra Madre is being planned for September with the assistance of Cabot & Sons in Pasadena.